Stroke: Massage of the carotid artery for stroke prevention?
April 27, 2012 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Christian Welsch
Dear Sir or Madam,
my masseur told me that massage in general, including massage of the carotid artery, serves stroke prevention because it keeps "everything" elastic. To me, this sounded strange.
Is this "theory" of massage generally true?
If not: What happens when the carotid artery is specifically massaged?
And: Besides sports, avoiding obesity and healthy eating, what is a sensible additional stroke prevention measure? Does it help, for example, to take Omega-3 capsules or drink at least 2 liters of water daily? Background: A very severe stroke occurred in my family (nephew).
Thank you for your advice and best regards.
Dear questioner,
I consider the statement to be a promotional measure by your masseur, just as it is not proven that a dietary supplement can protect against stroke.
There are two types of stroke, the ischemic, which is caused by arteriosclerosis or a blood clot, and the much rarer hemorrhagic, which is caused by bleeding, usually on the basis of an aneurysm (bulging of a blood vessel in the brain, often congenital).
One can only try to minimize the risk factors for arteriosclerosis, which are:
Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia (LDL cholesterol!), diabetes, obesity, lack of exercise, high homocysteine levels, taking the birth control pill, untreated sleep apnea.
An adequate amount of water is generally healthy...
Severe strokes in young people often occur as brain hemorrhages (see above) or when multiple untreated risk factors come together. The combination of obesity, birth control pills, and smoking is particularly dangerous.
Do you have any questions?
Regards, C.Welsch
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