Thaindian News

London, May 6 (IANS) Something as simple as drinking coffee, making love, getting angry or even blowing your nose can trigger a deadly stroke, says a study.

Seemingly harmless activities like going to the toilet, drinking a can of cola or jumping when you are surprised - all trigger a sudden increase in the blood pressure.

This can lead to a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a type of stroke which is fatal for more than half of victims, reports Stroke, the journal of the American Heart Association.

Some 8,000 people in the UK suffer subarachnoid haemorrhage every year and it is most common in the middle-aged, particularly women, according to the Daily Mail.

The study by Dutch scientists identified eight everyday activities and bodily functions that are likely to increase the blood pressure suddenly and risk this type of stroke.

It occurs when a weakened blood vessel surrounding the brain bursts and damages brain tissues.

Between 10 and 15 percent of victims die before they reach hospital, and 50 percent are dead within a month.

Experts from the University Medical Centre in Utrecht in the Netherlands, surveyed 250 patients who suffered this type of stroke.

All were asked questions such as whether they had drunk coffee, cola, been exercising or blown their nose an hour before the stroke, or if they remembered being startled or angry.

Scientists were able to estimate how much each activity increased the risk of the stroke.

Lead researcher Monique Vlak said: “All of the triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture.”