AHA/ASA: Stroke survivors not out of the woods yet

Almost a third of the estimated 700,000 strokes that occur each year in the United States are recurrent strokes, making a second stoke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) the greatest threat to stroke or TIA survivors.

This conclusion comes from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's recently published "guidelines for prevention of stroke in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack." In the report, which appears in "Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association," the organizations put forth a number of recommendations to prevent a second stroke or "mini-stroke."

To reduce the risk of a stroke, patients can decrease modifiable risk factors such as eliminating smoking, limiting alcohol, reducing obesity and boosting physical activity. They can also utilize medical options through their physicians such as anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, or undergo interventional procedures such as carotid artery surgery or angioplasty.

Other updates within the guidelines increase the severity of stroke prevention awareness in certain populations: the aging baby boomers, pregnant or menopausal women and ethnic minorities. Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., M.S., estimates the occurrence of strokes to rise to over 1 million by 2050, making the most significant increases in these groups. Sacco is the chairman of the ASA's Stroke Advisory Board and chairman of the ASA's Secondary Stroke Prevention Guidelines Committee.

Resources:

Access the complete report.

To view the press release, visit the American Heart Association's press room.