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Mexican Americans and women may be at higher risk for subarachnoid
hemorrhage, a type of stroke involving bleeding in the space around the
brain, according to a study published in the June 11, 2008, online
issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People
with this type of bleeding in the brain may have a severe or
“thunderclap” headache that is sometimes described as the worst
headache of a person’s life. Other symptoms that may accompany the
headache include vomiting, seizures and neck stiffness. The condition
is usually caused by a cerebral aneurysm, a blistering of a blood
vessel, and can lead to death or severe disability even when caught
early.
The Study
For the study, researchers reviewed the medical records
of 29,907 people in southeast Texas and identified 107 people age 44
and older who had experienced a subarachnoid hemorrhage over seven
years. Of those, 43 were white and 64 were Mexican American.
Sixty-seven percent were women.
The results showed that Mexican
Americans were one and two-thirds times more likely to have a
subarachnoid hemorrhage than white people. Women in the study had a one
and three-quarters-fold increased risk of having this type of stroke.
“Physicians
and public health officials should help Mexican Americans and women
take steps which might prevent subarachnoid hemorrhage,” said study
author Lewis B. Morgenstern, MD, Professor and Director of the
University of Michigan Stroke Program in Ann Arbor and Fellow of the
American Academy of Neurology. “Given that Mexican Americans account
for the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United
States, it is important to examine how this condition may affect
certain ethnicities differently.”
Morgenstern says differences in
tobacco use and the treatment of hypertension between ethnic groups may
have played a role in the study’s outcome. He also cautions that the
study took place in one geographic area, so results may not be the same
in other locations.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
About Strokes
A stroke is an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack." Alternative names include: Cerebrovascular disease; CVA; Cerebral infarction; Cerebral hemorrhage; Ischemic stroke; Stroke - ischemic
Every 45 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. A stroke can happen when:
- A blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. This is called an ischemic stroke.
- A blood vessel breaks open, causing blood to leak into the brain. This is a hemorrhagic stroke.
- If
blood flow is stopped for longer than a few seconds, the brain cannot
get blood and oxygen. Brain cells can die, causing permanent damage.
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