Head and Neck Injuries May Increase Stroke Risk: AHA

Head and neck injuries increase stroke risks among trauma patients aged below 50, according to a study by the American Heart Association, AHA.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, studied the data of more than 1.3 million patients aged below 50 who were treated in emergency trauma rooms. About, 11 of every 100,000 patients suffered stroke within four weeks. In a month, nearly two million people get treated in trauma rooms,  which suggests almost 214 young adults in a month have ischemic stroke after a trauma or injury.

It was also noted in the research that nearly 48 in every 100,000 adults and 11 in every 100,000 children with a head or neck injury had a stroke. The average age of patients with stroke was 37 years while those without stroke were about 24 years.

Christine Fox, lead author and assistant professor of neurology at the University of California San Francisco said, "These findings are important because strokes after trauma might be preventable."

 Ischemic strokes are caused when blood clots occur in  arteries that are connected to the brain. According to the AHA reports, 87 percent of the strokes are ischemic strokes. If these conditions are diagnosed earlier, strokes can be prevented by treating injuries with anti-clogging drugs. In this research, around 10 percent of the patients who had stroke were diagnosed with clots caused by injuries, but all were not diagnosed before the stroke.

In order to determine the incidence of stroke among trauma patients, the researchers used a broad definition of trauma. As a next step the researchers intend to measure the incidence of strokes that occur in different types of trauma and injuries like car accidents, vertebral fractures, etc.

Strokes are not common among young adults but the experts do not rule out the possibility of its occurrence.

Richard Libman, chief of vascular neurology at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y said, "Two thirds of strokes occur in people over the age of 65, but one third of strokes occur in those under the age of 65." He also agreed that stroke mechanisms are linked to injuries and it requires further studies, "It still remains a mystery at this point." reports HealthDay.