Stroke risk cut if you cope well with stress

PEOPLE who cope well with stress can cut their risk of having a stroke by almost a quarter, research has shown.

Experts have dubbed the ability to handle stress a "sense of coherence" - based on the experiences of survivors of concentration camps. It is a measure of how strongly a person believes events in their life are comprehensible, manageable and meaningful.

A study of more than 20,000 people found those who felt able to cope with stress in their lives had a lower risk of stroke.

Those taking part in the study were followed for more than seven years, during which time 452 strokes occurred.

All the people were aged between 41 and 80, and more than 100,000 "stressful life events" were recorded during the study, including bereavement, divorce and separation.

The research revealed that people with a strong sense of coherence reported taking less time to adapt to life events and had a 24 per cent lower risk of stroke.

The study, funded by the Stroke Association and the Medical Research Council, was published in the journal Stroke.

Dr Paul Surtees, whose team at Cambridge University carried out the work, said: "Our findings suggest that people who are able to adapt more rapidly to stressful circumstances in their lives had a lower risk of stroke.

"Whilst many questions remain to be answered by further research, this evidence raises the possibility that improving our ability to respond to stress may have benefits for vascular health."

Dr Isabel Lee, of the Stroke Association, said: "It is becoming clear that understanding the very complex nature of stress and its connection to stroke will allow us to design better stroke prevention interventions and help save lives."