Squatting may increase the risk of stroke, particularly if a person is defecating, researchers suggest. Doctors in Calcutta, India found a third of
Squatting may increase the risk of stroke, particularly if a person is defecating, researchers suggest. Doctors in Calcutta, India found a third of stroke deaths occurred while people were squatting. Results presented to the World Congress of Neurology in London showed how doctors started investigating when they realised they were seeing more stroke patients in the morning than any other time of day.
Doctors looked at records for 232 patients, and found just over a half the strokes were occurring between five and nine o'clock in the morning. The Calcutta team also found that squatting, whether defecating or not, raises blood pressure. They say the rise was especially significant in people with hypertension, who already have a greater risk of stroke.They suggest it has long been recognised that defecation can bring on a stroke.They do not say everyone should change to using different positions when they go to the toilet. But they do suggest those with high blood pressure avoid squatting; and that doctors looking after people with hypertension measure their blood pressure during a squat as well as when they're sitting or lying.
