Daily HealthBeat Tip - August 18, 2008

The stroke they didn’t know they had

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

They’re called silent strokes – the kind people don’t realize they had, because silent strokes don’t create devastating symptoms. But they are worth worrying about; they raise the risk of future strokes.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine did brain scans of middle-aged people who thought they were stroke-free, and found evidence of silent strokes in about 11 percent.

These folks also had higher scores on a screening test based on risk factors for stroke.

Researcher Sudha Seshadri says the findings mean people should pay attention to controlling stroke risks.

``It re-emphasizes the importance of adhering to the American Heart Association and other guidelines.’’  (7 seconds)

The study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 18 2008