Stroke News and Research

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A stroke is a medical emergency. Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. "Mini-strokes" or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), occur when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted.

Using hearts from hepatitis C-positive donors presents an opportunity to expand donor pool

Patients who were transplanted with hearts from hepatitis C-positive donors had comparable outcomes after one year to patients who received hearts from donors that didn't have the disease, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in JAMA Cardiology.

22 Dec 2019

Genomic data can accurately and reliably predict stroke risk

Estimates based on genomic data predict stroke risk with an accuracy similar to, or greater than those based on clinical risk factors. This result implies that persons at high risk might benefit from more rigorous preventive measures.

21 Dec 2019

New genetic score is similar or more predictive than common risk factors for stroke

A group of investigators from Australia, Germany, and the UK have shown that genetic data obtained from a single blood draw or saliva sample can be used to identify individuals at a 3-fold increased risk of developing ischemic stroke, a devastating condition and one of the leading causes of disability and death world-wide.

20 Dec 2019

Canadian First Nations communities with greater social support, trust have lower cardiac risk factors

A major study has found that Canadian First Nations communities with greater socio-economic advantages, educational opportunities, social support of family members and greater trust between community members, have lower cardiac risk factors.

19 Dec 2019

Birth season and heart disease risk – an association?

A new study published in the British Medical Journal December 2019 suggests a novel risk factor for heart disease – the season in which the individual is born. The large study carried out in the US shows that people born in either spring or summer had a significant, though slight, increase in the risk of fatal heart disease, when compared to the autumn-born. Why this should be so is unknown as of now.

19 Dec 2019

Antiretroviral regimens prescribed to many pregnant women with HIV do not meet federal guidelines

More than 20% of pregnant women beginning anti-HIV treatment were prescribed an antiretroviral treatment that did not meet federal guidelines for use during pregnancy, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.

19 Dec 2019

An innovative treatment for joint pain

Tired of living with painful arthritic knees, 54-year-old Deborah Brown's interest was piqued when she saw a recruitment flyer for a clinical trial on an innovative pain treatment at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

18 Dec 2019

Obesity, but not poor diet and lack of exercise, associated with higher dementia risk

A large study that followed more than one million women for nearly two decades has found that obesity in midlife is linked to a greater risk of dementia later in life; however, poor diet and lack of exercise are not.

18 Dec 2019

Heavy drinking damages the heart

Drinking too much destroys the liver, as is well known. A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on December 18, 2019, shows that excessive alcohol consumption also damages the heart muscle. This is seen by a rise in the level of certain biological molecules in the blood.

18 Dec 2019

Healthy sleep patterns could help offset genetic risk of heart disease or stroke

Getting a good night's sleep could be beneficial for long-term health. A pioneering new study led by Dr. Lu Qi, director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center, found that even if people had a high genetic risk of heart disease or stroke, healthy sleep patterns could help offset that risk.

18 Dec 2019

High lipoprotein(A) levels in people with type 1 diabetes add to elevated risk of cardiovascular disease

High blood levels of the lipid lipoprotein(a) in people with type 1 diabetes add to the already elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a paper published in the prestigious journal Diabetes Care.

18 Dec 2019

New analysis finds link between air pollution and depression, suicide risk

People exposed to higher levels of air pollution are more likely to experience depression or die by suicide, finds a new analysis led by UCL.

18 Dec 2019

Harmful alcohol consumption pattern may damage heart tissue

A pattern of harmful alcohol consumption, or heavy drinking, increases level of blood biomarkers indicating heart tissue damage, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association.

18 Dec 2019