Researchers Uncover Link Between a Stroke and the Use of Medication Containing Caffeine

A recent study conducted by Korean researchers suggests a link between taking pills containing caffeine and an increased risk in having a stroke due to the former’s effect on blood pressure levels.

In explaining why this link exists, Nam-Kyong Choi, lead researcher at the Seoul National University College of Medicine, said, “Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, causing blood vessels to tighten and increasing the pressure of the blood flow.”

From earlier research, it has been found that hemorrhagic strokes usually occur due a weakened blood vessel which ruptures in the brain. The most common reasons why a blood vessel weakens is due a cluster of abnormal blood vessels or the swelling of a single blood vessel itself.

This study, which analyzed the data of 940 patients who suffered from an acute hemorrhagic stroke also compared it with two other groups: people who had no history of a stroke and were hospitalized as well as those who did not have a stroke neither were they hospitalized.

Patients from all groups were asked if they had taken any medication two weeks before the stroke occurred. It was found that those who took medication with caffeine were two-and-a-half times more likely to end suffering from a stroke.

In fact, figures showed that 5 percent of the people from the first group used medication with caffeine as opposed to 2.3 percent from the other two groups.

As for the consumption of coffee, this did not seem to affect one’s chances of getting a stroke. Researchers found that those who took medication with caffeine but did not consume coffee were thrice as likely to suffer from a stroke.