Nov 30, 2016
Brussels, 30th November 2016 – Jon Barrick SAFE President and Valeria Caso President of the European Stroke Organisation of Stroke Professionals had a meeting today at the European Union Health Commission to discuss the quality of Stroke prevention, care and support within the countries of Europe.
SAFE and ESO made a number of proposals aimed at gathering EU support for encouraging countries across Europe to improve stroke intervention. Stroke now accounts for more than 9 percent of all deaths in Europe and is the leading cause of long term severe disability. (more…)
Nov 29, 2016
A brain aneurysm is a bulge in an artery in the brain that has the potential to burst or rupture. A ruptured aneurysm can cause a type of stroke called a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
An estimated 5 percent of Americans may have or develop a brain aneurysm each year, according to the Mayfield Clinic.
Not all aneurysms cause stroke, and vice-versa. However, if a person is at risk for a burst aneurysm, treatment is often required to prevent this potentially life-threatening occurrence. (more…)
Nov 27, 2016
Written by Ana Sandoiu
Published on medicalnewstoday.com
As the winter holidays are fast approaching, alcohol consumption rates are about to go up. While low to moderate drinking has been shown by some studies to have beneficial effects on the heart and circulatory system, new research suggests alcohol use may increase the risk of some types of stroke and not others.
Most people have consumed alcohol at some point in their lives. Low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption have been shown to be good for one’s health, but high and heavy drinking can have serious negative consequences. (more…)
Nov 25, 2016
Published on medicalnewstoday.com
Stroke rates continue to decline in people 55 and older, while more than doubling in those between 35 and 39, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
“People, especially those under 50, need to realize that stroke does not just occur in the old, and the outcome can be much more debilitating than a heart attack – leaving you living for another 30 to 50 years with a physical disability,” said Joel N. Swerdel, M.S., M.P.H., lead study author and a Ph.D. candidate at the Rutgers University School of Public Health in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (more…)
Nov 23, 2016
Published on www.medicalnewstoday.com
People with pacemakers or defibrillators who experience only short episodes of an abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation have a very low risk of stroke, suggesting that anticoagulants in this group of patients were not likely to reduce the risk for stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. (more…)
Nov 20, 2016
High blood pressure in middle age can lead to impaired cognition and is a potential risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a statement from the American Heart Association co-authored by Loyola Medicine neurologist José Biller, MD.
Dr. Biller is a member of the multidisciplinary panel of experts that wrote the statement, published in the heart association journal Hypertension. Dr. Biller is chair of the department of neurology of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. The panel is chaired by Constantino Iadecola, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine and co-chaired by Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the University of California San Francisco. (more…)
Nov 17, 2016
A popular group of antacids known as proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, used to reduce stomach acid and treat heartburn may increase the risk of ischemic stroke, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016.
“PPIs have been associated with unhealthy vascular function, including heart attacks, kidney disease and dementia,” said Thomas Sehested, M.D., study lead author and a researcher at the Danish Heart Foundation in Copenhagen, Denmark. “We wanted to see if PPIs also posed a risk for ischemic stroke, especially given their increasing use in the general population.” (more…)
Nov 17, 2016
Berlin – An overactive thyroid increases the risk of stroke or cardiac arrest. Dementia is also possible. According to current studies, people with slightly elevated hormone levels are already at risk. The Professional Association of German nuclear medicine (BDN) advises people with a thyroid enlargement therefore a hormone check.
The risks of a thyroid gland over-function for heart and circulation are known, says the BDN chairman Detlef Moka. He therefore urges all concerned to receive treatment. When exactly an overfunction of the thyroid is present is, however, under expert controversy. (more…)
Nov 16, 2016
The story by Judah Pollack and Olivia Fox Cabane, published on www.fastcompany.com
Your brain’s delete button and how to use it – This is the fascinating way that your brain makes space to build new and stronger connections so you can learn more.
There’s an old saying in neuroscience: neurons that fire together wire together. This means the more you run a neuro-circuit in your brain, the stronger that circuit becomes. This is why, to quote another old saw, practice makes perfect. The more you practice piano, or speaking a language, or juggling, the stronger those circuits get. (more…)
Nov 15, 2016
Heartbreak, it turns out, is more than just a metaphor: After the death of one’s spouse, people are at higher risk of having an abnormal heartbeat, a new study finds.
Why it matters:
We know emotions can have physical effects. So-called “broken heart syndrome,” which can occur after intense emotional experiences (both sad and happy) is marked by an enlargement of the heart. Very stressful life events are known to boost the risk of a heart attack or stroke. But this is the first study to show that another manifestation of emotional stress may be an irregular heartbeat. (more…)
