Risk Of Rare Stroke Highest In Women With Lowest Saturated Fat Intake.(hemorrhage-induced stroke in women with high blood pressure who eat a low saturated fat diet)

2001 MAR 8 - (NewsRx.com) -- A diet low in saturated fat was associated with an increased risk for a type of hemorrhage-induced stroke in women with high blood pressure, a study in the February 12, 2001, issue of the journal Circulation reported.

"Given how much fat we eat in the United States, this study does not change our general goal of reducing the intake of saturated fat," says Meir J. Stampfer, MD, a co-author of the report and a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "However, for people with high blood pressure, the goal should not be an extremely low-fat diet," he adds.

"A more moderate approach may be sufficient to get the benefit for coronary disease without incurring the risk for hemorrhagic stroke."

The American Heart Association also stresses that individuals should not change their dietary habits based on a single study.

"This should not discourage people from following a diet that is low in saturated fat," says Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, a member of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee. "There is a large body of evidence showing that low saturated fat diets can dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease. This study deals with a specific population of women - those with high blood pressure - and one of the rarest forms of stroke in relation to diet."

Stampfer and his colleagues analyzed data from the long-term Nurses' Health Study that began in 1980. At the beginning of the study, 85,764 women, ages 34 to 59, completed dietary questionnaires. All of the participants were free of known heart disease and cancer. From the questionnaires, researchers calculated each woman's fat and protein consumption.

By 1996 the women had suffered a total of 690 strokes, including 74 (10.7%) intraparenchymal hemorrhages, one type of hemorrhagic stroke. Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a small or medium blood vessel inside the brain leaks or bursts. Most strokes are ischemic strokes, which result from the blockage of an artery carrying blood to the brain. Intraparenchymal hemorrhage is one of the less common forms of a hemorrhagic stroke.