"Younger people may be becoming more vulnerable to stroke because of the larger number of Canadians indulging in unhealthy eating and living habits," says Dr. Hakim. "This may be accelerating the impact of risk factors, especially high blood pressure, which are now converging and have the potential to erase the progress we've made in treating heart disease and stroke over the last 50 years."

The recent Heart and Stroke Foundation report card on Canadians' health noted that young people are beginning their adult lives with multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke. "Over the past 15 years, Canada has seen significant increases in overweight and obesity, and diabetes mellitus," says Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Michael Hill. "There are more than 250,000 young Canadians in their 20s and 30s with high blood pressure - the number one risk factor for stroke."

Dr. Hill recommends that adults of all ages pay attention to stroke risk factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, stress and excess alcohol consumption.

Canadians can find out their risk of heart disease and stroke by going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation's website (heartandstroke) and taking the Heart&Stroke Risk Assessment(TM), a personalized risk profile and a customized action plan for healthy living that includes tips, tools, and recipes.

Dr. Poppe's research was presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress 2010, co-hosted by the Canadian Stroke Network, the Canadian Stroke Consortium, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Source: HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF CANADA