Could Potassium Lower Stroke Risk in Women?

In older women, high potassium intake (from foods like bananas) could link to a decreased risk of stroke and all-cause mortality compared to women with lower-potassium consumption, according to a recent study.

“Previous studies have shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn’t clear,” said Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, the study’s lead author and professor emerita in the department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
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“Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of potassium, and potassium not only lowers postmenopausal women’s risk of stroke, but also death.”

Over an 11-year period, researchers evaluated potassium consumption, stroke history, and death rates in 90,137 postmenopausal women ages 50 to 79 years.

According to investigators, none of the participants had a history of stroke at the beginning of the study and consumed a mean of 2611 mg of potassium daily.

Using Cox proportional hazards models, researchers obtained hazard ratios after adjusting for variables such as smokers, blacks, and alcohol consumption.

The study showed that the women consuming the most potassium exhibited a 12% reduced risk of having a stroke (and 16% decreased chance of ischemic stroke) compared to the women who consumed the least amount of potassium.  Additionally, women with the highest levels of potassium intake had a 10% reduction in mortality risk.

Researchers found that the women with normal blood pressure and those who consumed the highest levels of potassium had a 27% decreased risk of ischemic stroke (21% reduction in all stroke) compared to those who ate the least amount of potassium.

While those with hypertension that consumed the most potassium did not decrease their risk for stroke, the potassium-rich foods did help lower their risk of mortality.

Investigators noted that individuals ascertained the best health benefits from potassium consumption before they developed high blood pressure. Their findings show no association between hemorrhagic stroke and potassium consumption.

The complete study is published in the September issue of Stroke.

-Michelle Canales

References:

Seth A, Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Kamensky V, et al. Potassium intake and risk of stroke in women with hypertension and nonhypertension in the women’s health initiative. Schizophr Bull. 2014 September [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.114.006046.

American Heart Association. Potassium-rich foods cut stroke, death risks among older women. September 4, 2014. http://newsroom.heart.org/news/potassium-rich-foods-cut-stroke-death-risks-among-older-women. Accessed September 24, 2014.