title: Nutrition in the primary and secondary prevention of stroke.
abstract: Stroke is a worldwide major health issue. As some of the risk factors are modifiable, it is of high importance to understand how we can minimize the risk for stroke. Multifactorial interventions should be provided to patients in the frame of primary and secondary prevention. Obesity is a well-established modifiable factor as well as the dietary pattern that mostly depends on the social environment, the lifestyle and the habits of each individual. So, dietary changes should be part of the holistic approach which includes improvements in the regulation of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and hyperglycaemia. In the present review, we try to provide a global approach on how diet can influence the risk of stroke and especially the nutritional influence on lipid profile and vessel disease and the role of dietary modification in the secondary stroke prevention. The importance of salt restriction, DASH and Mediterranean diet low in saturated and high in polyunsaturated fats, and the management of obesity seem to be the most important dietary priorities.
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine Department, Agios Pavlos Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Apostolopoulou
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michalakis
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miras
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hatzitolios
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Savopoulos
mesh_terms: D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000009:adverse effects; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000009:adverse effects; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary