High blood fat levels predict stroke in women

High levels of blood fat (triglycerides) in older women can predict the likelihood of stroke, according to a new study.

It has been found that triglycerides in fact are stronger risk factors than cholesterol levels for ischemic stroke.

Triglycerides also pose more of a threat than low-density lipoprotein and bad cholesterol, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and New York University School of Medicine claim.

While elevated levels of triglycerides have long been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis, "until this study, researchers had not examined how these lipid biomarkers are independently related to strike risk in a single group of people," Dr Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, senior author on the study, explained.

It is also believed that disrupted circadian rhythm can cause dangerous triglyceride levels to rise, thus increasing the likelihood of stroke.

This explains the fluctuations in triglyceride levels during the day, as circadian rhythms change.

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