SEATTLE, May 4 (UPI) -- Achieving optimal levels for cholesterol and blood pressure in stroke patients helps prevent a second stroke or heart attack, researchers in France said.
Study author Dr. Pierre Amarenco of Denis Diderot University and Medical School in Paris looked at four risk factors for stroke: high low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol; low high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol; high triglycerides; and high blood pressure.
The researchers found that for each risk factor that is controlled at the optimal level, the risk of stroke and other major cardiovascular problems goes down.
The study involved 4,731 people who had a recent stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke. Half received the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin, and half received a placebo. The participants were followed for an average of 4.9 years.
People who reached optimal levels in all four risk factors were 65 percent less likely than people who did not reach optimal levels on any of the risk factors to have another stroke.
Those who reached the optimal level on three risk factors were 38 percent less likely to have another stroke, and those who reached the optimal level on two risk factors were 22 percent less likely to have another stroke.
The findings were presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st annual meeting in Seattle.
