Stroke

  • Women with children may have lower stroke risk, study suggests

    Women who have had three or more children may face a lower stroke risk, according to new research. The findings suggest reproductive factors, especially the number of live births, could help predict future stroke and brain injury risk in women. Sudha Seshadri, behavioural neurologist, professor and founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute [...]

  • New drug lowers stroke risk without added bleeding, study finds

    Asundexian cut stroke risk without raising bleeding risk in a large international trial in people treated after stroke or mini-stroke. The study involved 12,327 adults from 37 countries who were enrolled within 72 hours of a non-cardioembolic stroke, caused by a clot forming outside the heart, or a transient ischaemic attack, a temporary blockage of [...]

  • Sleep patterns may reveal hidden stroke risk, study suggests

    People whose sleep apnoea swings from night to night are 30 per cent more likely to have a stroke, heart attack or heart failure, a Flinders study suggests. The research found it is not just how severe sleep apnoea is that matters, but how much it fluctuates, with wide night to night swings linked to [...]

  • Life-saving stroke therapy still not available 24/7 across England

    Seven of England’s 24 stroke centres still do not offer stroke therapy 24/7, despite pledges to make it available across England by 1 April, a Guardian investigation has revealed. The health service was expected to improve stroke care by making a clot-removal technique called mechanical thrombectomy available everywhere in the country 24/7 from 1 April. [...]

  • Flu vaccine could protect against stroke, even among infected

    Influenza vaccination could significantly reduce the risk of influenza-associated heart attack and stroke even among people who get infected after getting the vaccine, according new research. Catching influenza increases the short-term risk of cardiovascular conditions, and existing evidence has shown that the vaccine reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by preventing infection in [...]

  • Stroke may ‘rejuvenate’ parts of the brain to aid recovery

    Parts of the brain may look younger after a stroke, suggesting the brain can reorganise itself to help make up for damage. Scientists analysed brain scans from more than 500 stroke survivors collected across 34 research centres in eight countries. Using deep learning trained on tens of thousands of MRI scans, they estimated the biological [...]

  • Study identifies brain rewiring mechanism that may aid stroke recovery

    Stroke recovery may involve brain rewiring in undamaged regions, new research suggests, with scans showing a younger brain structure in people with severe movement problems. The study analysed brain scans from more than 500 stroke survivors across 34 research sites in eight countries. Using deep learning models, a form of artificial intelligence, trained on tens [...]

  • Home programme cuts post-stroke falls

    A home programme cut post-stroke falls by 33 per cent over 12 months, in what researchers said was a world first for a non-drug intervention. The study, known as the Falls After Stroke Trial, found a co-ordinated programme of functional exercise, reducing hazards around the home and coaching on mobility outside the home cut falls [...]

  • AI tool improves stroke care and outcomes, study finds

    An AI tool used to assess stroke scans was linked to better stroke care and improved long-term outcomes in a large trial. The system used AI-assisted imaging analysis to classify the causes of a stroke alongside evidence-based treatment recommendations, and was tested against usual care in routine clinical practice. The trial involved 21,603 patients with [...]

  • Blood test predicts stroke 15 years before onset

    A blood test could predict stroke and other cardiovascular diseases up to 15 years before symptoms appear, researchers say. The tool, called CardiOmicScore, uses a single blood sample to generate personalised risk scores for six major cardiovascular conditions: coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease and venous thromboembolism. The [...]