Besides cancer and heart diseases, stroke is the third leading cause of death. Approximate 1/4 of all stroke victims die as a direct result of the stroke or it’s complications. Stroke is caused by uncontrolled diet that is high in saturated and trans fats resulting in cholesterol build up in the arteries and high blood pressure. In other words, if cholesterol building up in the arteries is blocking the circulation of blood in any part of the body causing oxygen not to be delivered to the brain, resulting in some cells in the brain to die off and are unable reproduce, then we have stroke. Other strokes happen when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures causing the cells in your brain to be deprived of oxygen in your blood, they die and never come back.

I. Causes of Stroke
There are similar causes of stroke and heart diseases, but in stroke the result is more severe. Any delay of rescuing will result in death of the victim. Here are some causes of stroke:

1. Unhealthy diet
A diet high in saturated and trans fats causes bad cholesterol to build up in your blood vessels in the brain, blocking oxygen needed for the cells thus increasing the risk of stroke. Also unhealthy diet causes high blood pressure making your heart work harder to pump blood to your body in result of heart diseases. High blood pressure also causes the blood vessels in your brain to harden and thin, increasing the risk of stroke.

2. Smoking
Smoking not only has a devastating effect on the health of the smoker but also to anyone that inhales its toxic fumes. Cigarettes contain high levels of cadmium that causes the blood to clot activity of cells in result of blocking blood flow and damaging the blood vessels in the brain.

3. Excessive drinking
Moderate drinking is good for your heart, but excessive drinking can raise levels of some fats in your blood causing cholesterol to build up in the arteries and blood vessels in the brain resulting in increase of the risk of stroke.

4. Diabetes
People with diabetes tend to develop heart disease or have strokes at an earlier age than other people. Diabetes with unhealthy diet causes high blood glucose levels that damage nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death among people with diabetes.

5. Obesity – a body mass index of 30 or higher
Study shows that even after adjusting for other stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, High cholesterol, smoking, cardiac diseases, moderate alcohol consumption, and physical activity; obesity is still associated with a greatest risk of stroke in men and women.

6. Use of birth control pills
Birth control pills contain estrogen and one of two other hormones, lynestrenol or norethisterone that increase the risk of blood clotting, which can lead to ischemic stroke especially in woman who smoke and who are older than 35.

There are many other causes of stroke such as heart diseases that we have discussed lengthily in the heart diseases articles.