Undiagnosed Strokes Common

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, October 10, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Many adults in the United States may have had a stroke without even knowing it.

Past studies show 11 percent of adults 55 to 64 years old, 22 percent of those ages 65 to 69, and 43 percent of those older than 85 have experienced stroke symptoms even though they were not diagnosed. Brain imaging can screen adults to determine whether they have had one of these silent strokes.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham analyzed data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, which included 18,462 adults older than 45 who had not been diagnosed with stroke.

More than 17 percent of participants reported having one or more stroke symptoms. More than 8 percent had sudden numbness on one side of the body; 5.8 percent had sudden weakness on one side of the body; 4.6 percent had sudden vision loss in one or both eyes; 2.7 percent suddenly could not understand what others were saying; and 3.8 percent suddenly lost ability to talk or write.

Adults most likely to have had stroke symptoms are those with lower income, less education, poorer health status, those with more risk factors for the disease, and African-Americans.

Researchers say many people do not get medical care for stroke symptoms, and if they do, they do not get the help immediately. The authors conclude, Targeted education on the warning signs of stroke and risk factor reduction efforts for individuals who report stroke symptoms may be helpful in improving early recognition and in the prevention of stroke.

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006;166:1952-1958