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A study of more than 80,000 women ages 50 to 79 links drinking two or more diet drinks a day with an increased risk for certain kinds of stroke, coronary artery disease and death.

Published in the journal Stroke, a publication of the American Heart Association, the study follows other research that previously connected the artificial sweeteners found in diet soda and other beverages with a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, obesity and other conditions.

But the study released is one of the first to look at the link between drinking artificially sweetened beverages and the risk of certain types of stroke in a large, racially diverse group of older women.

“Many well-meaning people, especially those who are overweight or obese, drink low-calorie sweetened drinks to cut calories in their diet,” noted lead study author Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, in a statement. “Our research and other observational studies have shown that artificially sweetened beverages may not be harmless, and high consumption is associated with a higher risk of stroke and heart disease.”

Compared with women who drank diet drinks less than once a week or not at all, women who drank two or more artificially sweetened beverages per day were:

23 percent more likely to have a stroke
31 percent more likely to have a clot-caused (ischemic) stroke
29 percent more likely to develop heart disease
16 percent more likely to die from any cause

The risks were found to be higher in women who consumed diet drinks two or more times a day, more than doubling the risk of a clot-caused stroke among women without previous heart disease or diabetes, obese women without previous heart disease or diabetes, and African American women without previous heart disease or diabetes.

While the study identifies the notable link between diet beverages and, in particular, small artery strokes, the study authors pointed out that it does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship because it was based on self-reported information about drink consumption. The self-reported study data also did not name specific artificial sweeteners in the colas, sodas and fruit drinks.

cite: by Harriet Edleson, AARP, February 14, 2019

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2019/diet-soda-health-risks-women.html

Heart Attack: Under-Recognized Killer of Women

Heart attacks are by far the most common cause of death in females, three times greater than breast cancer, for example.

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack is vital information that should be known by every woman.

The most common symptoms of heart attacks in women are pain, pressure or discomfort in the chest. But it’s not always severe or even the most prominent symptom, particularly in women. And, sometimes, women may have a heart attack without chest pains. Women are more likely than men to have heart attack symptoms unrelated to chest pain, such as:

Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort

Shortness of breath

Right arm pain

Nausea or vomiting

Sweating

Lightheadedness or dizziness

Unusual fatigue

These symptoms can be less pronounced than the obvious crushing chest pain often associated with heart attacks. Women may describe chest pain as pressure or a tightness. This may be because women tend to have blockages not only in their main arteries but also in the smaller arteries that supply blood to the heart — a condition called small vessel heart disease or microvascular disease.

Women’s symptoms may occur more often when women are resting, or even when they’re asleep. Mental stress also may trigger heart attack symptoms in women.

If you suspect you are having a heart attack: Call 911 or your emergency services number immediately.

Tag: women

Study Links Diet Soda to Strokes, Death Research shows doubling of stroke risk for some women over 50

Compared with women who drank diet drinks less than once a week or not at all, women who drank two or more artificially sweetened beverages per day were:

Heart Attacks in Women

Heart Attack: Under-Recognized Killer of Women