FOR RELEASE: 4 p.m. ET, Thursday April 2, 1998
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For copies of the study, please American Heart Association journal report: telephone: (214) 706-1173
Stroke survivors can fare well into older age, study shows
DALLAS, April 3 -- Stroke survivors have the potential to live independent lives into their 80s and 90s just as well as people of the same age and sex who have not had a stroke, according to a study in this month's Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
As part of the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, Mass., researchers conducted a long-term evaluation of 147 people who had a stroke between 1972-1974. Only 10 were still living 20 years later in the study's follow-up period spanning 1993-1995. Originally, the stroke survivors were matched with 147 study participants who did not have a stroke. Of that control group, 20 had survived.
Of the 10 survivors, all but one still lived independently and their lifestyle was found to be very similar to 20 people in the study who had not had a stroke.
Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and No. 3 cause of death in the United States.
"What we have consistently found is that people who survive a stroke -- and one of the biggest problems is to survive it -- have a better quality of life than anyone has previously believed," says the report's lead author, Glen E. Gresham, M.D., professor and chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Erie County Medical Center. "The American Heart Association is very correct that primary prevention is the most important message. It's better to prevent a stroke than to cope with it afterwards."
The study shows, he says, that stroke survivors with certain characteristics can cope.
"Stroke survivors are fighters in a colloquial sense," Gresham says. "The people who do the best are the ones who use every ability that they regain or can compensate for those abilities they've lost. If they have a paralyzed arm, they learn to do everything one-handed. Also, having a supportive family and encouragement from healthcare professionals is also very important."
According to Gresham, the study is unique because it examines the long-term recovery of stroke patients in comparison to people of the same age and sex without stroke and finds that both groups live similar lifestyles as they get older.
The researchers found that stroke survivors were more likely to be female, have high blood pressure, use more medications and less alcohol than people in the study who haven't had a stroke.
Of the 10 survivors, one died in 1995 just prior to the examination being completed, 24 years after having a stroke. Only one lived in a nursing home and was unable to walk. The survivors had lived from 20-38 years after having a stroke.
While this study shows that stroke survivors can still lead productive lives, many who have a stroke don't get that opportunity.
According to the American Heart Association, 600,000 Americans have a stroke each year. Recent studies have stated that the number may be closer to 730,000. In 1995, the latest year that statistics are available, 157,991 people died of stroke.
"Research has shown that if you've had a stroke, you don't live as long as those who haven't had one," says Gresham. "People who have their stroke at an earlier age tend to have bleeding strokes rather than clot-induced strokes and they tend to fare better. Paradoxically, if you do survive a stroke, your functional outcome can be quite good."
Co-authors are Margaret Kelly-Hayes, Ed.D., R.N.; Phillip A. Wolf, M.D.; Alexa S. Beiser, Ph.D.; Carlos S. Kase, M.D. and Ralph B. D'Agostino, Ph.D.
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NR 98-4882
Media advisory: Dr. Gresham can be reached at (716) 898-3218. Dr. Margaret Kelly-Hayes can be reached at (617) 638-5107. (Please do not publish telephone numbers.)
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