Why sex and coffee can cause a stroke
Something as seemingly harmless as blowing your nose, having sex or drinking a cup of coffee can burst a blood vessel in your brain and cause a stroke, researchers have concluded.
A cup of coffee could cause a burst blood vessel (Pic: Alamy)A team at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, Holland have identified eight main triggers that appear to increase the risk of intracranial aneurysm – a weakness in the wall of a brain blood vessel that often causes it to balloon.
If it ruptures, it can result in a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a stroke caused by bleeding at the base of the brain.
Drinking coffee contributed to 10.6 per cent of such haemorrhages, vigorous physical exercise caused 7.9 per cent, and nose blowing 5.4 per cent.
Sexual intercourse caused 4.3 per cent, straining on the toilet 3.6 per cent, drinking cola 3.5 per cent, being startled 2.7 per cent and losing your temper 1.3 per cent, the study found.
‘All of the triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture,’ said one of the researchers, Dr Monique Vlak.
‘Subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by the rupture of an intracranial aneurysm is a devastating event that often affects young adults,’ she added.
About two per cent of the population have intracranial aneurysm but few rupture.
Although physical activity had triggering potential, researchers do not advise refraining from it because it is also an important factor in lowering risk of other cardiovascular diseases.
The findings were published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/862468-why-sex-and-coffee-can-burst-a-blood-vessel#ixzz1LdGLz0C8
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