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Mexican-Americans, Women may be at increased
risk for type of Stroke
Newswise — Mexican- Americans and women may
be at higher risk for subarachnoid
hemorrhage, a type of stroke involving
bleeding in the space around the brain,
according to a study published in the June
11, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the
medical journal of the American Academy of
Neurology.
People with this type of bleeding in the
brain may have a severe or “thunderclap”
headache that is sometimes described as the
worst headache of a person’s life. Other
symptoms that may accompany the headache
include vomiting, seizures and neck
stiffness.
The condition is usually caused by a
cerebral aneurysm, a blistering of a blood
vessel, and can lead to death or severe
disability even when caught early.
For the study, researchers reviewed the
medical records of 29,907 people in
southeast Texas and identified 107 people
age 44 and older who had experienced a
subarachnoid hemorrhage over seven years. Of
those, 43 were white and 64 were Mexican
American. Sixty-seven percent were women.
The results showed that Mexican Americans
were one and two-thirds times more likely to
have a subarachnoid hemorrhage than white
people. Women in the study had a one and
three-quarters-fold increased risk of having
this type of stroke.
“Physicians and public health officials
should help Mexican Americans and women take
steps which might prevent subarachnoid
hemorrhage,” said study author Lewis B.
Morgenstern, MD, Professor and Director of
the University of Michigan Stroke Program in
Ann Arbor and Fellow of the American Academy
of Neurology. “Given that Mexican Americans
account for the largest and fastest-growing
minority group in the United States, it is
important to examine how this condition may
affect certain ethnicities differently.”
Morgenstern says differences in tobacco use
and the treatment of hypertension between
ethnic groups may have played a role in the
study’s outcome. He also cautions that the
study took place in one geographic area, so
results may not be the same in other
locations.
The study was supported by the National
Institutes of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke.
The American Academy of Neurology, an
association of more than 21,000 neurologists
and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated
to improving patient care through education
and research. A neurologist is a doctor with
specialized training in diagnosing, treating
and managing disorders of the brain and
nervous system such as epilepsy, dystonia,
migraine, Huntington’s disease, and
dementia. For more information about the
American Academy of Neurology, visit
http://www.aan.com.
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