In a new study, researchers found military veterans who had a traumatic brain injury may have an increased long-term risk of stroke.
They used data from more than 610,000 veterans and found those who had a head injury were 69% more likely to have a stroke.
That risk was highest in the first year after an injury but remained elevated for a decade or more. And the risk was higher in those who had more severe injuries.
A traumatic brain injury is one that results in unconsciousness, confusion, amnesia or other neurological symptoms.
About 450,000 service members were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury between 2000 and 2021, according to the Department of Defense.
The team says military personnel is exposed to specific risks, such as explosions, that can lead to such injuries.
In the general population, people might experience them playing sports or in motor vehicle accidents. Among older people, falls are the most common cause.
In the study, the team looked at data from 306,796 people in a Veterans Health Administration database who had a traumatic brain injury between October 2002 and September 2019.
They compared those people’s risk for stroke to an equal number of people who had not had a traumatic brain injury.
Researchers calculated 10.3 strokes per 1,000 people per year among those with traumatic brain injuries. That’s compared to 5.7 strokes per 1,000 people per year in those without brain injuries.
They found a traumatic brain injury increased the risk of stroke by 69%. The increased risk varied by type of stroke.
For an ischemic stroke – the most common type, where blood flow to the brain is blocked – the risk was 56% higher in the veterans with traumatic brain injuries compared to those without.
For a hemorrhagic stroke that causes bleeding into the brain, the risk was nearly four times higher in those with brain injuries.
Researchers say that the more immediate increased risk of stroke after brain trauma might be related to damage such as torn arteries.
The findings should prompt further studies to identify the reasons behind the connection. It may be that head injury is another insult, like the transient inflammation associated with infection, that increases long-term stroke risk.
The findings suggest people with brain injuries should be aware of the possibility of permanent damage that may affect their blood vessels.
They should be extra aware of risk factors they can control, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about a new way to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and findings of foods linked to high risks of heart disease and stroke.
For more information about stroke and health, please see recent studies about supplements that may prevent stroke, heart disease, and results showing that both numbers in blood pressure can predict heart disease, stroke.
The study was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference and was conducted by Dr. Andrea Schneider et al.
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