Stroke

  • Adding anti-coagulant drugs to stroke care is ineffective

    Stroke patients who survive a blood clot in the brain’s blood vessels are prone to developing new blockages during their recovery periods, even if they receive vessel-clearing interventions. In an effort to avoid further clots, doctors at 57 sites around the U.S. tested a possible solution: the addition of anti-coagulant drugs to medicine that dissolves [...]

  • NHS trials blood pressure checks at dentists and opticians to detect hidden stroke risks

    The NHS is trialling blood pressure checks at dentist and optometry appointments to help find people at hidden risks of stroke or heart attacks. The scheme which will be up and running in the coming months follows the success of NHS community pharmacy blood pressure checks. The scheme has delivered more than a million checks [...]

  • ‘Heart-in-a-box’ better than cooler for heart transplants

    The risk of early heart failure after heart transplantation is lower if the donor heart is stored in a so-called heart-in-a-box instead of in the usual cooler with ice, according to new research from the University of Gothenburg. The established way of storing donated hearts before transplantation is to keep them at four degrees in [...]

  • The vital role of nurses for patients’ mental wellbeing following stroke

    A new statement from the American Stroke Association (ASA) highlights the vital role that nurses play in the wellbeing of patients following a stroke, including helping to manage emotional and social health challenges. Equally, as well as the vital role of nurses, the study findings emphasise how improved screening and assessment for psychosocial needs are [...]

  • ‘Life After Stroke’ pathway launches to support stroke survivors in Scotland

    A new digital pathway - the ‘Life After Stroke’ Pathway - has been developed by a partnership between health charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, NHS Lothian and Pogo Digital Healthcare. The pathway provides stroke survivors tailored information based on their personal experiences, symptoms, and concerns in order to better manage their condition, alongside support [...]

  • Brain-computer interface therapy boosts stroke outcomes

    A personalised brain-computer interface therapy, RehabSwift, significantly enhances hand mobility for stroke survivors, new research has shown. Strokes often lead to impaired hand function, presenting substantial challenges in daily activities. Sam Darvishi and colleagues developed and tested a brain-computer interface therapy that translates imagined hand movements into real actions using a personalised algorithm and bionic [...]

  • Short, intense bursts of exercise more effective after stroke

    A new study has demonstrated that short bursts of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) were more effective than traditional, moderate continuous exercise for improving the body’s aerobic fitness after a stroke. One-minute, short bursts of HIIT for 19 minutes may be more effective for improving fitness among people six months or more after a stroke. This [...]

  • Incidence of heart attacks and strokes lower after COVID-19 vaccination, large UK study finds

    The incidence of heart attacks and strokes was lower after COVID-19 vaccination than before or without vaccination, a new study involving nearly the whole adult population of England has found. The research, enabled by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK, analysed de-identified health records from 46 million adults [...]

  • Use of socially assistive robot improves stroke rehabilitation – study

    Using a socially assistive robot (SAR) in post-stroke rehabilitation improves outcomes, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. The finding from the first long-term study of robot use in physical therapy could open up a totally new method for rehabilitation exercises. Prof. Shelly Levy-Tzedek is a member of the Department of [...]

  • Gloves add new dimension to post-stroke rehabilitation

    Arts therapies provider Chroma has completed a pilot project using the innovative MiMu gloves. Led and initiated by Daniel Padhila, neurologic music therapist at Chroma, the gloves formed part of upper limb rehabilitation for post-stroke clients at the Wellington Hospital, London. MiMu gloves were developed by a team led by singer-songwriter Imogen Heap, and have [...]