The risk reduces by as much as 30 per cent, say researchers at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in Boston, who tracked the health and lifestyles of nearly 60,000 women for around 26 years.
The average age of the women was 52 at the start, and they were urged to adopt healthier lifestyles, such as giving up smoking, exercising and eating a better diet, including more fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and eliminating processed meats.
During the study, nearly 5 percent of women suffered a stroke, but the risk was dramatically reduced in those who did change their bad habits. Although all the lifestyle changes had a positive impact, the healthier diet was the most important, and on its own reduced the risk of a stroke by 23 percent.
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(Source: Stroke, 2020; doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.026761)
