Study finds fewer older people are having strokes

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/aaon-sff020421.php

News Release 10-Feb-2021
American Academy of Neurology

A new study has found that people age 70 and older are having fewer strokes, and fewer people of all ages are dying from the disease. The study, which examined the population of Denmark, is published in the February 10, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In older people, researchers found declines in both ischemic stroke, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain, and intracerebral hemorrhage, when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain.

"Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the world," said study author Henrik Toft Sørensen, M.D., Ph.D., D.M.Sc., of Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. "Recent research on the incidence of stroke has been mixed, and some studies have reported an increase among young people. However, our research found no increase in stroke among young people, and it also found the incidence of stroke declining among older people, which is encouraging."

........

"The decrease we found may be associated with better treatment of stroke risk factors, such as hypertension and atrial fibrillation, as well as falling smoking rates in the population," said Sørensen."

........

"The improvements we found in survival rates are consistent with improvements in stroke care," said Sørensen. "We also examined stroke severity and found while mild strokes increased, the most severe cases declined. These changes could be related to improvements in stroke awareness in the general population as well as the care people receive for stroke, including in the ambulance and emergency department prior to hospitalization. Such care has led to faster and improved diagnostics, particularly regarding the mildest of cases."

A limitation of the study was that the data did not allow researchers to examine trends in some subtypes of stroke. Another limitation was that the study was conducted in Denmark so the results may not be the same for populations in other countries.