Experimental Blood Thinner May Help Prevent Stroke, Without the Bleeding Risk

THURSDAY, April 18, 2019 -- Researchers say an experimental stroke drug prevented blood clots without the typical side effect of blood thinners: increased bleeding risk.

Bleeding is a common and potentially dangerous side effect of current anti-clotting drugs used to treat stroke patients. But the new findings suggest that the antiplatelet drug, called ACT017, may be a safe and effective alternative to current therapies used in stroke patients.

Why More Patients Are Surviving an Aneurysm

MONDAY, April 15, 2019 -- New treatments mean aneurysms are no longer an automatic death sentence, specialists say.

Aneurysms are a weakening or bulging of blood vessels that can rupture and become life-threatening. They can occur anywhere in the body, but are most common in the brain, or in the main blood vessels that lead to the heart, legs and arms.

Could Very Low 'Bad' Cholesterol Bring Stroke Danger?

WEDNESDAY, April 10, 2019 -- Despite years of being told that the lower your LDL cholesterol the better, is it possible that levels that are too low might harm you?

Yes, say researchers who now report that women who have excessively low LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels may face a higher risk for a bleeding stroke.

AHA News: Emphysema May Raise Risk of Ruptured Aneurysms

TUESDAY, March 19, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- When a weakened artery wall balloons or bulges, it's called an aneurysm. For people with emphysema, the risk of that aneurysm rupturing is much higher than for those without the lung condition, new research suggests.

While family history may play a role, how and why aneurysms develop is not well understood. The study, published Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, found that emphysema may be a unique risk factor for aneurysm, potentially giving doctors another tool to identify people with aneurysms.

AHA News: Black Woman in Their 50s Face Especially High Stroke Risk

THURSDAY, March 14, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Black women in their 50s may have more than triple the risk of stroke compared to white women of the same age, according to a new study that also found a healthy lifestyle could help curb much of that risk.

The findings suggest strokes are "impacting black women at a time in their lives when they're most productive at the peak of their lives," said Monik C. Jiménez, lead author of the study published Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

Heavier People May Be More Likely to Survive a Stroke

WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2019 -- While it's long been understood that being overweight or obese raises the odds of stroke, new research indicates those carrying extra weight are far less likely to die after having such a "brain attack."

For the study, scientists analyzed more than 1,000 people who had a so-called ischemic stroke, in which a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. The researchers found that severely obese patients were 62 percent less likely to die afterward than patients of normal weight.