Stroke Archive

For both men and women, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death. But their risks and symptoms can differ.

One in six people worldwide will have a stroke in his or her lifetime. Learn to recognize a "brain attack."

Heart attacks often make themselves known with a hard-to-ignore, obvious symptom like chest pain. That's not the case for strokes, which can cause a wide range of symptoms that may affect your ability to speak, see, move, or feel. A stroke interrupts blood flow to the brain, depriving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients. Prompt treatment can prevent a potentially devastating disability or death—which is why everyone should know the top warning signs of stroke.

The symptoms may be short-lived, but you should take them every bit as seriously as you would a true stroke.

You might have heard a transient ischemic attack (TIA) referred to by its more common nickname, "mini-stroke." This moniker has led to a lot of confusion about the true nature of a TIA. "Because of what the term implies, everybody thinks it's just a tiny stroke. The truth is, the symptoms can be pretty severe," says Dr. Natalia Rost, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Acute Stroke Service at Massachusetts General Hospital.

New research confirms that regular walking helps to prevent stroke. How many steps are required to make a difference?

Stroke is a serious concern for men, and with good reason. After a major stroke, survivors may face extended rehabilitation and permanent disability. The best medicine for stroke is prevention.

New devices and treatments can help prevent irregular atrial heart rhythms and related risks.

When your heart is pumping well, the four chambers contract and relax in a rhythmic, coordinated manner. However, a malfunction in the heart's internal electrical system can disrupt the normal beating sequence. As a result, the two upper chambers, the atria, can go into a fast, irregular quiver known as atrial fibrillation, or "afib."

Many people develop high blood pressure during their lifetime. These steps may delay your need to take medicines.

Hypertension, defined as a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mm Hg or above, is the primary risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Additionally, it sets the stage for other serious conditions, such as kidney failure, blood vessel damage, vision loss, and dementia.

People who have frequent migraines will quickly tell you that the pain can be excruciating. And for some sufferers, these headaches may also herald an increased vulnerability to small blood vessel damage in the brain and resulting strokes.

Approximately one in six adults in the United States reports having migraines. About a third of these people experience visual disturbances, known as aura, that precede the headache. While everyone with a history of migraines has a slightly elevated stroke risk, the likelihood double or triples in people with aura.

Enough is enough: stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements." This stark advice, from an editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine, stems from two new studies that found no clear evidence that vitamin and mineral supplements can prevent cardiovascular disease.

In one study, researchers pooled findings from 27 trials of multivitamins or vitamins A, C, or D; folic acid; selenium; or calcium, taken alone or in combinations. Together, the trials included more than 400,000 older people; none had known nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin use did not lower rates of heart disease, cancer, or death over all.

For people at high risk of diabetes who also have (or are prone to) heart disease, a daily walk may lower their risk of cardiovascular events, according to a study in The Lancet.

The findings are based on data from 9,306 people who took part in a larger study to evaluate two medications. Participants were required to follow a low-fat diet, get regular exercise, and track their steps with a pedometer at the beginning of the study (the baseline) and after one year.

The grief of losing a spouse or partner affects not just emotional and mental health, but physical health as well. The surviving spouse or partner often develops health problems in the weeks and months that follow. A study published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine found that individuals who had lost a spouse or partner were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next 30 days. Grief activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for revving up the body’s fight-or-flight response. That can lead to stress-induced changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and blood clotting. There is also a tendency after such a profound loss for the surviving spouse or partner to disregard his or her own health. It can take several months to a year to work through grief and grieving. If it lasts much longer, and is interfering with daily life—seeing friends, doing once-pleasurable activities—it’s possible that grief has morphed into something more serious, like depression.