Diet drinks may up heart strokes in women

Are diet drinks your choice? Beware, your heart could be at risk. A new study suggests that drinking diet drinks was associated with an increased risk of having a stroke among post-menopausal women, researchers say.

The stroke is was caused by a blocked artery, especially small arteries.

The study, published in the journal Stroke, showed that compared with women who consumed diet drinks less than once a week or not at all, women who consumed two or more artificially sweetened beverages per day were 23 per cent more likely to have a stroke.

Further, 31 per cent more likely to have ischemic stroke, and 29 per cent were at risk of developing heart disease (fatal or non-fatal heart attack).

In addition, there was a 16 per cent risk of deaths from any cause.

Furthermore, stroke risks more than doubled in women without previous heart disease or diabetes and obese women without previous heart disease or diabetes, findings revealed.

For the procedure of the study, researchers included 81,714 post-menopausal women aged 50-79 years as participants.

The study concluded that the results in post-menopausal women may not be generalisable to men or younger women.

"The American Heart Association suggests water as the best choice for a no-calorie beverage," suggested Rachel K Johnson, who is a Professor at the University of Vermont in

the United States.