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.

Heart patients be warned! don't skip your medications

Although it might take some effort to find out why some patients skip taking their medicine, a new study finds that heart patients who most frequently miss a dose are more than twice as likely to suffer heart attack, stroke and death.

13 Sep 2007

High blood pressure on the rise in American children

Researchers in the U.S. are warning that blood pressure levels among American children are on the rise.

13 Sep 2007

Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

A new book of pocket-charts that will help health workers to identify people at risk of heart attacks and strokes and save lives by prescribing the most appropriate treatment is published today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts can be adapted for use in any setting, in any country, with any patient.

12 Sep 2007

American life expectancy reaches an all-time high of 78

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years.

12 Sep 2007

Rochester receives $1.2 million to battle rare childhood disease

"For an orphan disease like Batten, which has such a clear-cut course of deterioration and no present cure, this grant is transformative both for these families and for us, as clinicians and researchers."

12 Sep 2007

Glycemic control medication appears to have favorable effect regarding risk of cardiovascular events

A meta-analysis of previous research suggests that use of pioglitazone, a glycemic control medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, but increases the risk for serious heart failure, according to an article in the September 12 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Sep 2007

GlaxoSmithKline responds to Journal of the American Medical Association articles

GlaxoSmithKline believes that conclusions drawn from the most recent meta-analyses published by Drs. Nissen et. al. and Furberg et. al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association do not confirm a difference in the safety profile of Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone).

12 Sep 2007

Diabetes drug Pioglitazone reduces risk of death, heart attack and stroke, but increases risk of heart failure

A drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes has been found to reduce the risk of death, heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke when used alone or in combination with other therapies for diabetes, according to a Cleveland Clinic study.

12 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007

Preventing enlarged heart reduces heart failure

For high-blood-pressure patients, preventing or reducing enlarged heart (left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH) reduces risk of heart failure. The study is published in the Sept. 4 Annals of Internal Medicine and led by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

11 Sep 2007

Too much salt in childrens' food raises their blood pressure

According to scientists in Britain, children as young as four are eating so much salt it is compromising their health by raising their blood pressure.

10 Sep 2007

Millions unaware they have potentially fatal high blood pressure

According to a medical charity in the UK more than five million Britons are living with potentially fatal high blood pressure and are unaware of it.

10 Sep 2007

Experts say screening families of heart attack victims could save many lives

Scottish researchers say by screening the relatives of middle-aged heart attack sufferers many lives would be saved.

9 Sep 2007

Ability of a brain area to change its functioning after stroke

New evidence from a patient shows that the area of the brain that processes visual inputs can reorganize after an injury caused by stroke.

5 Sep 2007

Fatty hearts in pre-diabetics

A simple imaging technique developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has revealed fat buildup in the hearts of pre-diabetic people long before symptoms of heart disease or diabetes appear.

5 Sep 2007

Improved dosing formula for warfarin (Coumadin)

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients.

5 Sep 2007

Benefits and limitations of health tests offered in community settings

Consumers who queue up for health screenings at the mall, a senior center, a drug store or other retail business could benefit from the information they learn.

5 Sep 2007

Can brain-injured, partially-blind stroke patients regain some of their lost vision?

Is it possible to offer hope for stroke patients who've lose part of their vision?

5 Sep 2007

Imaging is everything: What the clinician needs to know

In recent years, the concept of multimodality imaging has emerged coincident with advances in the newer technologies of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) and Coronary Computed Tomography (CCT).

3 Sep 2007

Lowering homocysteine with B-vitamins does not reduce cardiovascular risk

Secondary prevention with homocysteine-lowering B-vitamins does not reduce risk of death or major cardiovascular events, according to the WENBIT study.

3 Sep 2007