Article Abstract:
People with carotid artery disease whose brains do not react quickly enough to elevated levels of carbon dioxide may have a higher risk of stroke. This was the conclusion of a study of 94 people with asymptomatic carotid artery disease whose cerebral reactivity to carbon dioxide was measured by Doppler ultrasound while they held their breath. This automatically increases blood levels of carbon dioxide. Fourteen percent of those with impaired cerebral reactivity had a stroke during a two-year follow-up period, compared to 4% of those with normal reactivity.
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Article Abstract:
Oral contraceptives (OCs) can increase the risk of stroke, even those that contain low doses of estrogen. This was the conclusion of researchers who used a technique called meta-analysis to combine the results of 16 studies that evaluated the risk of stroke in women who used OCs. Overall, women who used OCs had twice the risk of stroke as women who did not. However, strokes in women who used OCs were still relatively rare, occurring at the rate of one additional stroke per year for every 24,000 women.
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Article Abstract:
A prospective cohort study evaluated long-term trends in the incidence, lifetime risk, severity and 30-day mortality of stroke over the past 50 years from 1950 to 2004. Results revealed that incidence of stroke has decreased over 50 years but the lifetime risk has not decreased proportionately, suggesting an improved control of risk factors but also emphasizing the need for continued primary prevention efforts to reduce lifetime risk, severity and 30-day mortality following stroke.
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