Articles tagged ‘stroke’

New-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is associated with higher rates of stroke, and can be independently predicted by larger atrial size and transapical approach, according to a study published recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.¹

Despite significant improvements in stroke prevention over the past decade, and a fall in incidence and deaths, UK doctors are still undertreating atrial fibrillation (AF), according to research¹ published recently in BMJ Open.



The theme of this year’s World Stroke Day, which was held on 29 October, was “One in Six”, referring to the fact that one in six people will have a stroke at some point in their lifetime, and that a stroke will be the cause of someone’s death every six seconds. These, says the World Stroke Organization (WSO), are everyday people leading everyday lives, but around 85% of them will have risk factors which, if identified, are preventable.

The consequences of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke could be limited by a simple injection, being developed by an international team whose research was published recently in the Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).¹

Research published recently by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies[1] reinforces the causal link between passive exposure to cigarette smoke and coronary disease. A recent report on Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects, commissioned by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), compiles and examines the body of evidence which now exists to support the connection.

The UK Stroke Association is in the process of planning an awareness campaign around atrial fibrillation (AF) and its link to stroke.

“Worldwide, strokes are the most common cause of death. This makes it a top priority for medicine to expand prevention in this area,” said Prof. Dr. Karl Max Einhäupl, from the University Clinic Charité in Berlin, who is co-chair of the Annual Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) which took place in Berlin recently.

New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1) quantifies for the first time the annual number of new cases of coronary heart disease (CHD) , stroke and Myocardial Infarction( MI) that could be prevented by populations reducing daily intakes of salt.

Physicians should be comfortable referring some patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for effective stroke prevention surgery, according to a study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN) (1).

Urgent coordinated action is needed to avoid the thousands of preventable strokes that leave many atrial fibrillation (AF) patients mentally and physically disabled or dead, every year. A report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis?, recently launched in the European Parliament by Action for Stroke Prevention, a group of health experts from across Europe, proposes measures to tackle stroke in patients with AF, the most common, sustained abnormal heart rhythm and a major cause of stroke(1).