Health@Heart
Dozing Off Clue for Stroke?
The uncontrolled sleepiness during the day could be a clue among those who snore and have sleep apnea
Elderly people who constantly doze off without planning to, or who have trouble staying awake during the day, have more than four times the normal risk of having a stroke, and also have a higher risk to have heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.
"Even when we controlled for things like hypertension, diabetes, physical activity, obesity and socioeconomic status, we found that people who had significant daytime dozing were much more likely to end up with stroke," according to Bernadette Boden-Albala of Columbia University in New York, whose study was presented at an American Stroke Association conference in New Orleans.
In her clinical research, which involved 2,156 adults (average age: 73), those who did “some dozing” during the day had 2.6 times higher risk, compared to those who did not, and those who had “significant dozing” had a 4.5 times greater risk.
The “dozing off” (daytime sleepiness) could be due to lack of sleep, prevalent among people who snore and have sleep apnea (frequent breath holding while asleep), which is a condition associated with increased risk for heart attack and stroke. The uncontrolled sleepiness during the day could be a clue among those who snore and have sleep apnea, but further investigations are needed to confirm or deny relationship between apnea and daytime sleepiness.
The study revealed that after two and a half years, there were 40 who developed a stroke, and 127 had some form of vascular events.
A separate study, involving 60,000 individuals, showed that moderate aerobic exercise protects people from stroke, “even if they had other risk factors such ad diabetes or heart attack.” This clinical investigation is the “first to single out the benefits of aerobic fitness on stroke prevention.”
"We found that a low-to-moderate amount of aerobic fitness for men and women across the whole adult age spectrum would be enough to substantially reduce stroke risk," stated Hooker of the University. Each year, in the United States, about 780,000 develop stroke, and about 150,000 of them will die from it and its complications.
A Moving Farewell Letter
A famous writer and Nobel Peace Laureate from Colombia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, dying from terminal cancer, sent this very inspiring farewell letter to his friends, which has since been translated to English for the world:
If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability. I wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say. I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express.
I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.
If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.
To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love. I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves. To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness.
I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken and the form used to reach the top of the hill.
I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life. I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.
Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'. There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you and that I will never forget you.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish. Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me', 'please' 'thank you', and all those loving words you know. Nobody will know you for your secret thought.
Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them. Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you. Send this letter to those you love. If you don't do it today...tomorrow will be like yesterday, and if you never do it, it doesn't matter either, the moment to do it is now. For you, With much love, Your Friend, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.