Stressed Brits 'at risk of stroke'

Around one in seven Brits feel their stress levels are extreme, according to new research, which could increase the chance of stroke.

The survey, by the Stroke Association and Siemens, also found that women are far more stressed than men - with around one in five feeling their stress levels are out of control, compared to one in ten men.

Subsequently, women could be at a higher risk of stroke as experts have warned that stress increases blood pressure.

Other factors which can contribute to the occurrence of a stroke include a poor diet and lack of exercise, with the survey also finding that a fifth of people took no exercise at all.

Around 150,000 people each year experience a stroke, with more than 67,000 dying as a result.

Meanwhile, a trial of daily tablet polypill designed to prevent the occurrence of strokes and heart attacks in over-50s has begun.

Professor Sir Nicholas Ward and Professor Malcolm Law from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Queen Mary University, London originally conceived the idea for the polypill in 2003.

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