Prior head harm is related to a 34% elevated threat of stroke in older adults — Concussion Alliance

By Sravya Valiveti. This text was initially revealed within the 6/27/24 version of our Concussion Replace e-newsletter; please take into account subscribing.

A press release from Penn Drugs Information highlighted that people with a historical past of traumatic brain injury (TBI) had been at increased threat of creating an ischemic stroke later in life. Ischemic stroke is a kind of stroke that’s characterised by a blood clot within the mind. This new research, revealed in Stroke, evaluated knowledge over 30 years for 13,000 adults and confirmed that these with prior head harm had been total 34% extra more likely to have a stroke than those that by no means suffered a brain injury. At baseline, the examine contributors had been a median of 54 years previous, had no historical past of TBI or stroke, and none had been in hospitals or nursing houses on the follow-up (a median of 27 years later). Head accidents different in severity, from delicate concussions to cranium fractures and different head trauma. Holly Elser et al. discovered that there was a dose-response relationship; these with one head harm had a 16% elevated threat of stroke, whereas these with two or extra head accidents had a 94% elevated threat of getting an ischemic stroke. The analysis group additionally discovered that the top harm severity didn’t affect the elevated threat of stroke, however a number of head accidents confirmed a powerful affiliation with extra extreme stroke later in life. 

It’s value noting that these new findings make clear the connection between brain injury and its long-term impacts on mind well being and stroke threat later in life, which provides to different current analysis that additionally discovered associations between brain injury and different long-term circumstances comparable to dementia and late-onset epilepsy, in addition to disability standing. This establishes a necessity for early intervention in those that are at increased threat of stroke on account of a historical past of head harm alone. The lead writer, Holly Elser, a Neurology resident at Penn Drugs, acknowledged that clinicians ought to counsel these sufferers who’re at increased threat on life-style modifications and measures that may assist sufferers monitor the danger and handle the danger elements related to a stroke comparable to hypertension and excessive ldl cholesterol. She additionally known as for higher prevention and security measures, comparable to carrying bike helmets and seatbelts that shield in opposition to extra extreme brain injury to hopefully mitigate the long-term threat of creating future circumstances related to brain injury.