Stroke Archive

The demand for neurologists is growing faster than the supply. The result is that there are very long wait times to see a neurologist, especially for chronic diseases like dementia, and there are huge shortages of specialists to treat people with stroke.

Aging and a family history can increase the risk for a stroke, but women can lower it by managing factors that are under their control-such as diet, exercise, blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes.

After a stroke, movement and balance become more difficult. That's why people who've had a stroke fall seven times more often than healthy adults. A study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in February found that tai chi, a form of Chinese martial art that combines movement and deep breathing, can reduce falls in stroke survivors.

The study enrolled 89 people who'd had a stroke—nearly half of them women—and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: usual care, a senior-targeted fitness program, or a one-hour tai chi class three times a week.

Getting too much calcium, particularly by adding supplements to calcium in your diet, could be risky, according to a study published in the February BMJ. Researchers in Sweden followed a group of more than 61,000 women for two decades. The women filled out dietary questionnaires, and based on their responses, the researchers assessed how much calcium the participants got from diet and supplements. Women who took more than 1,400 milligrams (mg) of calcium per day from diet and supplements were at higher risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and ischemic heart disease (when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen). The increase in risk for women who consumed 1,400 mg of calcium from diet alone was more moderate. This study relied on women's recollections of their diet, which means that their reporting might not be 100% accurate. Still, this is one of several studies to find a connection between high doses of calcium from supplements and an increased risk of death in both men and women. To shore up your bones and prevent fractures, health experts recommend getting 1,200 mg of calcium a day. However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) does not recommend that postmenopausal women take daily calcium supplements for fracture prevention. The safest sources are foods such as low-fat milk, yogurt, sardines, and salmon.

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Taking a walk just a few days each week might reduce your stroke risk, even as it improves your overall health and keeps your weight under control.

A study published in the journal Stroke arrived at this conclusion after looking at questionnaires from 13,576 men and 19,416 women (ages 29 to 69) who were enrolled in a cancer and nutrition study in Spain.

Although diabetes increases the risk of heart attack in general, a variety of imaging tests may be used to further establish risk in an individual. 

A stress test can identify impaired blood flow to the heart (also known as ischemia) during exercise or stress. The greater the ischemia, the greater an individual's future risk of heart attack or death. "These people may be more likely to benefit from bypass surgery or stenting. Given the results of the FREEDOM trial, bypass surgery should be more strongly recommended for appropriate candidates with diabetes," says Dr. Ron Blankstein, a cardiologist specializing in preventive cardiology and cardiac imaging at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Seeking care can prevent big strokes in the future.

Many people at risk for heart attack are also at higher risk for stroke, since the underlying disease process—atherosclerosis—can block blood flow to the brain, just as it does in the heart. Although many people know that chest pain is a sign of insufficient blood flow to the heart, they may not recognize the symptoms of inadequate blood flow to the brain. As a result, they can have a mild stroke and not know it.

New evidence shows lycopene is not just a cancer fighter.

Here's another reason to savor tomatoes: a recent study in Neurology finds they may help lower your risk of ischemic stroke—blockage of a brain artery that starves cells of oxygen and causes them to die. "We don't understand it entirely yet, but the lycopene in tomatoes may have specific properties that protect the cell in a way other antioxidants may not," says Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Q. I often receive offers in the mail to perform an ultrasound of my carotid arteries. Should I sign up for a carotid ultrasound?

A. You probably don't need this test unless you are experiencing certain warning signs. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and the major risk factors for stroke are age, high blood pressure, and cigarette smoking. Narrowing of the carotid arteries could cause a clot that blocks blood flow to the brain (ischemic stroke).

Are you fishing for a way to lower your risk of stroke? If so, put that jar of omega-3 supplements back on the shelf and head for the seafood aisle, according to a science review in BMJ.

Researchers identified published studies that examined the links between stroke and either consumption of fish or intake of omega-3 fatty acids. The search identified 39 separate studies involving a total of 794,000 individuals. Here are the main findings: