Blood fats elevate stroke risk

People with high triglycerides and non-HDL cholesterol, which is neither the 'good' nor the 'bad' cholesterol, are at increased risk for large artery atherosclerotic stroke. Large artery atherosclerotic stroke is a type of stroke caused by the blockage of blood flow to the brain. People with this type of stroke have blockage in the large arteries leading to the brain. Researchers from the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles looked at the records of 1,049 people admitted to a hospital with a stroke or mini-stroke over four years. Of those, 247 people had large artery strokes. It was found that people with high triglycerides and elevated non-HDL cholesterol were more likely to have a large artery atherosclerotic stroke than those with low levels of these fats in the blood. Those with the highest triglycerides were almost three times more likely to have this type of stroke than those with the lowest levels. Triglycerides are fatty acids and are the most common type of fat in the blood. People with the highest non-HDL cholesterol levels were twice as likely to have a large artery stroke. Interestingly, bad LDL cholesterol was not a significant risk factor for large artery stroke. The results show that other types of cholesterol may be more strongly linked with stroke risk. And as these types of cholesterol are included in the tests that are normally conducted, and triglycerides are already reported, it would not be difficult to start paying closer attention to these factors in people at risk for large artery stroke.