People who survive a stroke or mini-stroke in Canada are usually followed for about 90 days but new research suggests they are at elevated risk for at least five years.
26,000 cases studied
Researchers looked at the medical records of 26,000 people in the province of Ontario who had suffered this loss of blood flow to the brain. They found that even if they were stable after the stroke or mini-stroke, their risk of another stroke, heart attack, admission to hospital or death was more than double that of other people for years afterwards.
“We did show that the risk of another stroke happening was highest in the first year. And that was seven times greater than just community adults,” said Jodi Edwards, lead author of the study and post-doctoral fellow at Sunnybrook Sciences Centre. “That did attenuate over the study period but it did remain high at about five times higher at five years.”
Prevention better than treatment
The results suggest that people who have had strokes or mini-strokes should have follow-up medical care for longer than they do now. Even though Canada’s public health care system is cash-strapped, Edwards says it should invest in this kind of care because it is less expensive to prevent stroke than to treat it.
People must be encouraged to always maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating more vegetables and fruit, avoiding unhealthy foods, staying physically active, not smoking and minimizing drinking alcohol.
Stroke cases increasing in Canada
The results of the study are important given that the incidence of stroke is expected to rise dramatically as more Canadians have risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart irregularities. As it now stands, almost 14,000 Canadians die from stroke every year and it is the third leading cause of death.
The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
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