HHS HealthBeat (February 27, 2008)

Not a stroke, but still trouble

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

Even if an older person hasn’t had a stroke, having risk factors for one could mean trouble of a different sort already has begun. A study finds people with these risk factors as they age lose ability to do things like reason, learn and remember twice as fast as those without.

George Howard of the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that in a long-running stroke risk project supported by the National Institutes of Health. He presented his findings at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008.

Howard says the risk of cognitive decline makes sense because stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure affect the brain.

``I think it’s reasonable to assume, although our study doesn’t show, that controlling your risk factors would reduce the rate of decline of cognitive function.’’ (9 seconds)

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: February, 26 2008