Yes Virginia, exercise does reduce the likelihood of stroke, but some exercise (the strenuous kind) does a much better job of it that other exercise (the leisurely kind). The Tufts Health & Nutrition Newsletter reports on a study of 1,238 participants in the Northern Manhattan Study Cohort, average age 70, who had not been diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Subjects were given MRI scans and questioned about their leisure-time physical activity. The researchers found that the most active one-quarter of a study group, those who did moderate to heavy exercise – were 40 percent less likely to suffer small brain infarcts than those in the bottom half of leisure-time physical activity. Those who exercised only lightly, however, had the same risk of small strokes as the sedentary half.
Read an abstract of the study here.
My husband was playing racquetball for 2 hrs 2x a week and suffered a tia while playing. hmmmmm
The study does not say you are immune from strokes. It says there is a reduced chance of stroke.