Higher Cholesterol Levels Are Associated With Less Severe Strokes & Lower Death Rates

Olsen, TS et al. “Higher total serum cholesterol levels are associated with less severe strokes and lower all cause mortality: ten-year follow-up of ischemic strokes in the Copenhagen Stroke Study”. Stroke. 2007 Oct;38(10):2646-51

The Scandinavian Stroke Scale is a measurement of stroke severity, where a score of 0 is the most severe stroke and a score of 58 is the least severe stroke.

The Danish-based study investigated the relationship between cholesterol levels and both stroke severity and post-stroke death rates in 513 stroke patients with an average age of 75 who were followed for 10 years.

The Hvidovre Hospital study found:

Each 1 mmol/L (38mg/dL) increase in cholesterol levels resulted in an increase in the Scandinavian Stroke Scale score of 32%…meaning higher cholesterol levels are associated with less severe strokes.

Each 1 mmol/L (38mg/dL) increase in cholesterol levels resulted in an 11% decrease in death rates.

“The results of the study show that higher cholesterol levels were associated with less severe strokes and lower death rates”.

The details of the research can be found here:

Additionally in a separate study in 2017 by Sreenath S, Santhosh Kumar T.S., Parthiban, Jasen Joseph, Ratheesh Kumar V.R. at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, India, found in their “Study of cholesterol levels in patients with ischaemic stroke and their outcome”. IAIM, 2017; 4(10): 194-202 a very similar result was found.

They concluded:

“Patients with lower cholesterol levels develop major strokes, therefore had poorer outcome and increased mortality. Hence serum cholesterol levels are inversely related to stroke severity and outcome, and are associated with increased mortality”.

The details of the research can be found here: