Stroke Archive

Research we're watching

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Taking a low-dose aspirin every day could bring more risks than health benefits to healthy older adults, according to three papers from a single study, published online September 16 by The New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which began in 2010, included more than 19,000 adults ages 65 and older in the United States and Australia, who were free of cardiovascular disease, dementia, or disability, and followed participants for 4.7 years on average. Researchers found that treatment with a daily low-dose aspirin did not prevent dementia or disability. And rates of cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and stroke) were similar between participants who took low-dose aspirin therapy and the comparison group that did not. While health outcomes were largely the same, people in the aspirin group were more likely than those who were not taking daily aspirin to experience significant bleeding, both in the gastrointestinal tract and the brain — a known risk of aspirin therapy.

While low-dose aspirin does not appear to benefit healthy older adults, this does not apply to people with known cardiovascular disease. For them, aspirin therapy significantly decreases risk of heart attack and stroke.

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Research we're watching

Eating a Mediterranean-style diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and nuts, may help women over 40 reduce the risk of stroke, according to a study published in the journal Stroke.

The study enrolled more than 20,000 adults, ages 40 to 77, who were asked to record what they ate in a seven-day diet diary. Researchers then compared their diet and their stroke risk over a 17-year period.

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Q. Is there something stronger than aspirin I can take for peripheral artery disease in my legs?

A. People with peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the legs have blockages (plaques of atherosclerosis) in the arteries that impair the flow of blood. Based on large scientific studies involving over 5,000 people with PAD, authorities recommend taking a daily aspirin tablet. For people with PAD, smoking cessation, regular exercise, and often other medicines such as statins, can help prevent further plaque buildup and decrease symptoms.

Common mental health disorders are linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Learn to spot the warning signs.

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Heart disease and mental health issues are both common. So it's not surprising that these problems often occur together. But are people with depression or anxiety more prone to developing cardiovascular disease?

Teasing out the answer to that question has proved tricky. Some factors known to contribute to a higher risk of heart disease (for example, an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, and smoking) are also common in people with mental health issues. Now, new research that adjusts for those potentially confounding factors suggests the answer is yes.

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Q. The Harvard Health Letter has often said that it is generally healthy for women to have one alcoholic drink per day. Yet I hear a recent study showed no benefit. What's the truth?

A. Before answering your question, let's define "one drink": it's 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. And it means having one drink each day of the week, not having seven drinks on Saturday night, sleeping it off Sunday, and begging off until next Saturday night. Now, despite the recent study, we stick with what we've said, which reflects the research of outstanding nutrition scientists at Harvard and elsewhere.

Vitamins don't seem to reduce cardiovascular risks, according to a new report.

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There may be reasons to take a multivitamin, but improving your cardiovascular health is not one of them, says a report in the July 10 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The authors found that for the average person, taking a multivitamin supplement didn't help prevent cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes.

The findings were based on a review of general population studies conducted from 1970 to 2016, involving more than two million people. Researchers looked for associations between multivitamin supplementation and cardiovascular outcomes. But they weren't able to find any links.

Research we're watching

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About one in 10 people has eczema, a chronic inflammatory condition that leaves skin dry and itchy. People with more severe forms may experience a scaly rash or skin that cracks and oozes. These people may also be at greater risk for heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the May 23 issue of The BMJ.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 385,000 adults with eczema, which was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Each was matched with up to five people of similar age and sex who didn't have eczema.

Research we're watching

Episodes of atrial fibrillation (afib) — a chaotic, irregular heart rhythm — can last for minutes, hours, days, or much longer. The condition encourages blood clots to form in the heart; the clots can then escape and lead to a stroke. New research suggests that even intermittent bouts of afib (which were previously considered to be low risk) may increase a person's risk of stroke.

The study included nearly 2,000 people who wore a small skin patch that continuously monitored their heart rates for 14 days. All of them had paroxysmal (intermittent) afib and were not taking anti-clotting medications. Researchers then tracked the participants' incidence of stroke over the following five years. They found that afib that lasted more than 11% of the total monitoring time was associated with a threefold increase in stroke risk.

Research we're watching

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Eating an egg a day may help protect against cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online May 21 by the journal Heart. Researchers found that people who ate an egg every day had an 18% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 28% lower risk of experiencing a deadly hemorrhagic stroke, compared with people who didn't eat eggs.

The study included more than 400,000 adults ages 30 to 79. Participants were from 10 survey sites in China. Researchers looked at how often study subjects reported eating eggs and then tracked their health for nearly nine years using registries and other methods.

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Q. I recently read about the decision by the state of California to require cancer warnings on coffee. I drink a cup a day. Should I be concerned?

A. The recent decision by a California judge to require cancer warning labels on coffee stemmed from concerns about a specific substance found in coffee, acrylamide, which is a chemical that is produced when coffee is roasted. Coffee isn't the only food or beverage that contains acrylamide. Acrylamide is produced during the high-temperature cooking process used for numerous common foods, including cookies, crackers, and potato chips, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). But before you panic, while there definitely is acrylamide in coffee, scientists have yet to conclusively prove that this chemical causes cancer, according to the ACS. Most of the research on humans hasn't found any increased risk of cancer in people who eat foods containing acrylamide. Other studies looking at specific types of cancers have produced mixed results but found no conclusive links, according to the ACS. In addition, there is evidence that drinking coffee can bring some health benefits, such as reductions in the risks for stroke and liver disease. A 2015 study in Circulation also found that moderate coffee drinkers (defined as those having less than five cups a day) had lower risks for heart disease and neurological disease, according to the American Heart Association. So, the final message is this: if you are healthy and drink coffee moderately, there is no evidence that it's going to raise your risk of developing cancer.