Search Tag: Stroke

2015 24 Mar

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (NC, USA) have found that the results of a blood test done immediately after heart surgery could be a meaningful indicator of postoperative stroke risk. The finding is published online in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery . An acutely elevated level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) — a measure of kidney...Read more

2015 20 Mar

A new study shows that patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing coronary angiogram, a procedure used to assess blockages in the heart's arteries, had a significantly lower risk of major bleeding and death if their interventional cardiologist accessed the heart through an artery in the arm rather than the groin. Researchers said the results,...Read more

2015 17 Mar

According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Hypertension , expanding blood pressure screenings to non-primary care settings can help identify more patients of hypertension and could also lead to better management and control of this health condition.  Researchers at Kaiser Permanente examined the health records of 1,076,000 patients...Read more

2015 17 Feb

A six-year, multi-centre trial has found that the risk of recurrent stroke is higher in patients who have low blood flow to the back of the brain. The results of the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Vertebrobasilar Flow Evaluation and Risk of Transient Ischemic Attack and STROKE (VERiTAS) trial were presented at the International Stroke Conference...Read more

2015 15 Feb

Scientists report that it would be more effective to focus on the side of the brain where the injury did not occur to maximise stroke recovery. According to Dr. Adviye Ergul, Vascular Psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, most studies focus on the stroke area and how to reduce the damage there. However,...Read more

2015 10 Feb

Researchers have found that blood pressure (BP)-lowering treatment among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart disease events and improved mortality. They noted that each 10-mm Hg lower systolic BP was associated with a lower risk of mortality, CVD events, coronary heart disease...Read more

2015 04 Feb

Although high blood pressure and diabetes are known to raise the risk of stroke, a longitudinal study has shown that, for middle-aged adults, heavy drinking may be one factor that increases this risk even more. Researchers found that consuming more than two alcoholic drinks a day during middle age raises the risk of stroke by more than a third. Their...Read more

2014 02 Dec

The results of the European analysis of a global cardiology survey highlight the fact that, despite an increase in the number of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients compared to five years ago, 97 percent of cardiologists believe that there is still a delay in patients reaching diagnosis. The findings of the survey were released during...Read more

2014 17 Nov

Misalignment between evidence-informed clinical care guideline recommendations and reimbursement policies has created care gaps that lead to suboptimal outcomes for patients denied access to guideline-based therapies. Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AFib) is discussed as an example in a study which appears in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology...Read more

2014 05 Nov

According to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine , patients with atrial fibrillation who take the blood thinner dabigatran are at higher risk for major bleeding and gastrointestinal bleeding than those who take warfarin. The findings indicate that more caution is needed when prescribing dabigatran to certain high-risk patients, said researchers...Read more

2014 28 Oct

Strokes are a major cause of death and long-term disability globally, including in developing countries. In China, strokes are also the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, with prevalence rates having risen sharply over the past decade. Several studies have shown that the capacity to identify stroke signs, knowledge of coping with stroke symptoms,...Read more

2014 10 Oct

According to recent data presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress, people who have already had a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are at a high risk for a second similar event or other serious medical complications for the next five years. They need continuous follow-up and monitoring in order to manage this risk. The research was conducted...Read more

2014 08 Oct

The findings of a new study presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress indicate that delivery of care lags for people who have a stroke while hospitalised for another ailment compared to those who are admitted following strokes outside of hospitals. Such patients endure more delays in getting the right tests and the right drugs.  "Intuitively, you would...Read more

2014 25 Aug

A novel device designed to treat stroke more effectively could be made available in the near future. The device is placed onto the head like a sports visor or halo and uses ultrasound to quickly bust clots that cause stroke. It was developed by William Culp, MD, professor of neurology, surgery and radiology and vice chairman of research at the...Read more

2014 25 Aug

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently reviewing the safety of alteplase, a clot-busting drug. The drug is to be reviewed for the treatment of strokes. The regulatory agency believes that the benefits of alteplase outweigh its risks but because there is a chance that some previous assessments may have been flawed,...Read more

2014 18 Aug

The American Heart Association (AHA), in a new statement published in its journal Stroke , warns about the risk of stroke for patients receiving neck manipulation therapy. Although the group could not confirm whether neck manipulation causes stroke or not, they cite the need to inform patients of the potential risk before receiving such therapy. Various...Read more

2014 12 Aug

Patients experiencing atrial fibrillation (AF) while hospitalised for surgery have an increased long-term risk of ischemic stroke, more so following noncardiac surgery, according to results of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) . Data show that AF and flutter affect some 33 million people around the world....Read more

2014 11 Aug

According to a pilot study by Imperial College London, infusing stem cells into the brain may help boost patient recovery after a stroke. This is the first UK study to investigate the approach in the first week of stroke. The study was funded by OmniCyte Ltd. and the National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre. The findings...Read more

2014 15 Jul

People who undergo elective surgery for non-cardiac procedures have an elevated risk of major heart-related complications if they have previously suffered a stroke. Outcomes are worse for patients whose stroke occurred fewer than nine months prior to surgery. Danish researchers discovered the association between major adverse cardiovascular events...Read more

2014 30 Apr

According to the findings of a recent study presented at the the American Academy of Neurology’s 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, there is a link between symptom-free narrowing of the carotid artery in the neck and problems in memory, learning, decision-making and thinking when compared to people with similar risk factors but no narrowing in the...Read more

2014 04 Mar

Figure 1. Transverse gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MR images obtained superior to the carotid artery bifurcation in a 72-year-old man. L = ICA lumen. (a) Low-signal-intensity calcium (arrow) and lipid core (arrowheads) can be seen. (b) Note contouring of the ICA. The outer adventitial wall (red), lipid core (blue), calcification (green), and vessel...Read more

2014 19 Feb

Treatment using electrical energy, opposed to medications, could be a viable first option for the treatment of certain type of Atrial Fibrillation  According to a study published in the February 19 issue of JAMA, treatment with electrical energy (radiofrequency ablation) administered to patients with untreated paroxysmal (intermittent) atrial...Read more

2014 14 Feb

Moderate exercise like brisk walking may cut women’s stroke risk 20 percent and help offset some of the increased stroke risk in women taking postmenopausal hormone therapy.  According to the latest research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2014, women do not need to run marathons or do intense aerobics...Read more

2014 06 Jan

iRhythm Technologies, a healthcare information services company, announced that a prospective study by Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) has found that in comparison to the traditional Holter monitor, use of the company’s ZIO Service significantly increased detection of cardiac arrhythmias. The findings, published and made publicly...Read more

2013 18 Nov

A recent study conducted by Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, aimed at examining the impact of blood pressure reduction within 48 hours following a stroke. Dr He and his colleagues investigated whether lowering of BP in that timeframe would reduce death and major disability...Read more

2013 15 Nov

By focusing on prevention strategies, broader assessment may enhance at-risk patient identification. New and improved clinical practice guidelines were released by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association with the key aim to assist primary care clinicians in better recognising those adult patients at increased risk...Read more

2013 07 Nov

Expert members of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) have created a pioneering pocket-sized manual on acute cardiac conditions in their bid to improve heart attack survival rates. The toolkit is designed for first aid teams across Europe and will assist the decision making process in the valuable...Read more