神经科医生如何保持大脑健康?他想做得更好吗

Few people know more about stroke prevention and brain health than neurologist and epidemiologist Dr. 布鲁斯Ovbiagele. And one of the first things he'd like you to know is that you have a "tremendous" amount of control over your own stroke risk.

大多数中风是可以预防的, 说Ovbiagele, a professor of neurology and associate dean at the University of California, 旧金山. “需要做的都在我们的能力范围之内."

Ovbiagele – who is chief of staff at the 旧金山 Veterans Affairs health care system, 在四大洲拥有教授职位, serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the 美国心脏协会, and has published more than 600 research articles – does a lot to protect his own brain health. 但即使对他来说，这样做也可能是一项挑战.

他讨论了他的“专家说”节目," an 美国心脏协会 线上电子游戏飞禽走兽 series where specialists explain how they apply what they've learned to their own lives. (以下对话经过编辑.)

关于中风人们应该知道的最重要的事情是什么?

第一，它是什么. 很多人都不知道中风到底是什么, 身体的哪个部位受到了影响, 以及它的破坏性.

(A stroke occurs when a blood vessel to the brain is either blocked or ruptures, 使大脑缺氧. Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States and a top cause of disability worldwide.)

第二，这是可以预防的. 我们完全有能力预防中风.

关于预防，你会告诉你的病人什么?

首先，我鼓励他们吃健康的饮食. 一种与地中海饮食非常一致的饮食，也就是说, 有水果的饮食, nuts and vegetables and judicious use of olive oil – has been shown to reduce a person's risk of experiencing a stroke.

运动很重要，因为体育活动可以降低血压, keeps weight down and better controls the way the body can control blood sugar, 或葡萄糖. So, 至少, 一周中大部分线上电子游戏飞禽走兽适度锻炼, 每次约30分钟, 能帮助降低中风的风险吗.

尽量避免压力是有帮助的. 遵从医生的建议也是非常非常重要的.

我想说的最后一件事是确保每个人都知道自己的数字. 通过数字, I mean making sure that one goes for routine care and tries to make sure they're aware of their cholesterol, 血糖，尤其是血压, 因为这是中风的主要可改变的危险因素.

有哪些因素是他们无法控制的?

年龄是最大的因素. We know that for every decade after the age of 55, the risk of experiencing a stroke doubles.

另一件事是种族. We've known for almost 60 years that people of African ancestry in this country are at substantially higher risk of experiencing, 不幸地死于, 与非西班牙裔白人相比. 大约一半的额外风险可以用生活方式因素来解释. 但另一半，我们仍然无法解释.

你自己的生活方式和你的建议是如何一致的?

我尽量每天锻炼. 我通过做俯卧撑做一些适度的阻力训练. 我也在健身车上锻炼. I don't always succeed in doing that every day, but I try to do it at least four or five days a week.

我不喜欢把锻炼变成例行公事. 所以，当我在自行车上锻炼的时候，我会听着音乐.

和我的配偶一起远足是我的一件大事. 我喜欢在大自然中做事. 和徒步旅行, 我认为比什么都重要, 是一种既能锻炼身体又能不插电的方法吗.

Beyond the regular exercise – which is important – I incorporate a healthy lifestyle into the activities that I do. 我现在跟你说话的时候，我是站着的. 我有一张站立式办公桌, so I try to make sure that I stand most of the time unless there's a compelling need to sit.

I take the staircase almost all the time unless there's some compelling reason not to. 在我去过的每个工作场所，我都因为这样做而臭名昭著. But I do that all the time – and encourage my colleagues to do so, as well.

你每天还做什么?

我尽量每天至少吃五份水果或蔬菜. 如果我觉得有点饿，我就吃杏仁. 我尽量不做太多. 但我确实会小口吃，这让我感觉更饱.

利用地中海饮食, 我爱吃鱼, 鱼油对血管有很好的保护作用. 我不是素食主义者，但我很少吃肉. 我偶尔会吃鸡肉.

我尽量保持积极的态度. Several studies have shown that people who tend to have a more upbeat attitude tend to live longer.

And I make it a point to know my numbers and make sure they are under control.

你非常忙. You teach around the world, and you've earned advanced degrees in medicine, law, business and more. 你是怎样安排线上电子游戏飞禽走兽锻炼的?

我会说我可以做得更好. But one of my strengths is that as much as possible, I really try to do things that I enjoy. 我爱学习. 有些人可能会认为这很繁重，但这实际上给了我动力.

有时我觉得我从来没有真正平衡过事情. 但我想说的是，我尽量做那些能给我带来动力的事情.

Is there a direct benefit to brain health from staying intellectually engaged?

绝对. When you look at lifestyle factors in terms of reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease, you find that people who were exposed to a lot of cognitive stimulation – reading, 写作, 参与——倾向于风险较低.

我试着做的一件事就是多读书. 我总是有一本书在读，通常是非小说类的.

就你自己的日常生活而言，你有什么地方可以做得更好吗?

我们已经意识到睡眠对心血管健康非常重要. 我对做事充满激情，我热爱我所做的事情. But I think I would like to improve in that area by doing a little bit less so that I can have full and restful sleep. Because increasing data are showing how the duration of your sleep and the number of times you wake up at night potentially could be associated with poorer brain health and an increased risk of stroke or heart attack.

我不超过五个小时, 我们越来越多地发现，尽管可能存在差异, 成年人至少需要七个小时, 八小时睡眠.

关于中风的风险，你还希望人们了解什么?

中风过去被称为脑血管意外. 它们不是偶然的. 谢天谢地，这种命名法停止了.

But even "stroke," I feel sometimes, has the connotation of "a stroke of bad luck.“在大多数情况下，事实并非如此. 这真的是一个让我们生活得更好的机会, 这样我们才会更健康.