Could Your Stroke Risk Have Something to Do with the Soil Beneath Your Feet?

Why are all 10 of the South Carolina counties with the highest rates of patients suffering from strokes located on the coastal plain, while all 10 of the state’s counties with the lowest stroke rates are in the Blue Ridge/Piedmont region? Researchers theorize that early-life exposure to the microbes in coastal soil affects the makeup of the bacteria and viruses living inside the area’s residents, with the result being an increased risk for cardiovascular problems, according to Agricultural Research. The Coastal Plain extends from Virginia through the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Florida panhandle, as well as into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky — a region known to medical researchers as the “stroke belt” for its high incidence of stroke.