News by Subject Medicine & Health

People who take long naps during the day or sleep nine or more hours at night may have an increased risk of stroke, according to a study published in the Dec. 11, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

A new nanoparticle innovation that detects unstable calcifications that can trigger heart attacks and strokes may allow doctors to pinpoint when plaque on the walls of blood vessels becomes dangerous.

Taking a baby aspirin every day to prevent a heart attack or stroke should no longer be recommended to patients who haven't already experienced one of these events.

Patients prescribed anticoagulants after a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in the emergency department are more likely to continue long-term use of medications to treat the condition, according to research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

The observational and modelling study which used individual-level data from almost 400,000 people, published in The Lancet, extends existing research because it suggests that increasing levels of non-HDL cholesterol may predict long-term cardiovascular risk by the age of 75 years. Past risk estimates of this kind are based on 10-year follow-up data.

Stroke patients received time-sensitive, lifesaving treatment approximately 30 minutes faster via an ambulance specially designed to treat stroke called a Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU). Patients diagnosed and treated in an MSU received stroke care faster, even in a densely populated city such as New York City, where this study was conducted.

Long-term exposure to hydrocarbons in the air may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke development, according to a study published Dec. 4, 2019, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Han-Wei Zhang of China Medical University, Taiwan, and colleagues.

According to a study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, patients with cannabis use disorders had an increased cardiac risk post-surgery.