Stroke > Horizon scanning
Mortality rates after anticoagulant-associated intracerebral hemorrhage.
UpToDate;2018.
[In a retrospective series of over 100,000 patients who presented to a stroke center with ICH, most of whom had atrial fibrillation (AF), those who were receiving a DOAC had a lower mortality than those receiving warfarin.]
Available with an NHS OpenAthens password
UpToDate Practice Changing Update: Time window for mechanical thrombectomy after acute ischemic stroke.
UpToDate;2018.
[For patients with ischemic stroke caused by a large artery occlusion in the proximal anterior circulation who cannot start treatment within six hours of the time they were last known to be well, intra-arterial mechanical thrombectomy from 6 to 24 hours is recommended if there is evidence of a mismatch between specific clinical and imaging criteria. See 'Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke', section on 'Treatment beyond 6 hours'.
Available with appropriate registration or membership
The following report(s) may be of interest:
Folic acid 'may help reduce stroke risk in people with high blood pressure'.
NHS Choices - Behind The Headlines; 2018.
[This randomised controlled trial aimed to see whether high homocysteine levels and high platelet levels may increase the risk of stroke – and, if so, whether folic acid may reduce risk.]
Freely available online
NIHR Signal: Adding a third antiplatelet drug after a stroke increases harms but not benefits.
NIHR Dissemination Centre; 2018.
[A combination of aspirin, clopidogrel and dipyridamole increases the risk of major bleeding. Taking all three drugs at the same time does not reduce the incidence or severity of recurrent stroke in people who have had a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).]
Freely available online
NIHR Signal: Multi-morbidity predicted to increase in the UK over the next 20 years.
NIHR Dissemination Centre; 2018.
[Two-thirds of adults aged over 65 are expected to be living with multiple health conditions (multi-morbidity) by 2035. Seventeen percent would be living with four or more diseases, double the number in 2015. Two-thirds of these people would have a mental illness like dementia or depression. Increased life expectancy by around three years for both men and women means people will spend longer living with multi-morbidity.]
Freely available online
People no longer being treated for irregular pulse 'may still have stroke risk'.
NHS Choices - Behind The Headlines; 2018.
[In this study, the researchers were interested in the long-term health outcomes of people who had atrial fibrillation (AF) that had resolved and, as such, were believed to no longer require medication, like anti-clotting drugs (anticoagulants) such as warfarin. The researchers compared outcomes for thousands of UK adults with resolved AF to those who had existing AF, as well as to adults with no history of AF.]
Freely available online
Regular exercise may help keep your arteries 'young'.
NHS Choices - Behind The Headlines; 2018.
[Researchers recruited 102 older adults with an average age of 70 to a study looking at the relationship between exercise history and the health of their main arteries. People who reported doing the highest frequency of exercise (6 to 7 sessions a week) had the best measures of health for the aorta. All people who did 2 or more sessions of exercise a week had healthier measures for the carotid arteries supplying their brain than people who did little or no exercise.
Freely available online
