Three risk factors make it much more likely a person will suffer a severe stroke Smoking, high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation all increase stroke risk These factors also make it more likely the stroke will result in lifelong disability THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A trio of risk factors not only increase your risk of stroke , but they also raise the odds that such a stroke will be debilitating, a new study warns. What are these three big dangers? Smoking, having high blood pressure and suffering from atrial fibrillation all significantly raise the risk of suffering a severe stroke, researchers reported Nov.
13 in the journal Neurology . “Stroke can lead to disability or even death, yet there are a number of risk factors that people can modify with a change in lifestyle or medication,” said investigator Catriona Reddin , a geriatrics researcher at the University of Galway in Ireland. “Our results emphasize the importance of managing risk factors for stroke, especially high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and smoking in order to prevent severe, disabling stroke,” Reddin added in a journal news release.
Severe strokes result in people being unable to walk or care for themselves without assistance, researchers said. These patients require constant nursing care for the rest of their lives. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 27,000 people from 32 countries with an average age of 62.
Of this group, half had suffered a stroke, including about.
