Finnish researchers were surprised by their discovery.
Absolute emergency, brain vascular accidents (stroke) occur unpredictably, when a blood vessel is blocked because of a clot or breaks. Stroke can cause balance, speech, memory and death disorders. Its prevention is a major public health issue, especially since “The number of early ischemic vascular accidents (before 50 years old, editor’s note) is increasing” recalls a new Finnish study. These authors highlight the “important” role of a non -traditional “risk factor in the occurrence of strokes before 50 years, especially in women.
They recruited 523 patients aged 18 to 49 who had a stroke without identified cause and compared them to 523 other healthy subjects, the same age and the same sex. All came from 19 European centers. They evaluated the association between stroke and the number of risk factors (12 traditional (hypertension, tobacco, bad power supplies …), 10 non -traditional and 5 specific to female sex). The authors also took into account the presence of a specific heart defect called “permeable oval foramen” (FOP) which can increase the risk of stroke.
According to the results published in the journal “Stroke”, classic risk factors lead to a stroke in 65% of cases for people without malformation, and in 25% for others. A new symptom categorized as “non -traditional” has emerged :. “We were surprised by the role of non -traditional risk factors, especially migraines, which seem to be one of the main risk factors for stroke in young adults”shared Professor Jukka Putaala, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Principal Author of the Study. The risk attributable to this migraine was around 46% for strokes in people with an FOP and around 23% for those who are not affected.
In France, 15% of the population is affected by migraine, particularly women, making it one of the most frequent diseases according to the French Federation of Neurology. Migraine with aura represents 20% of crises and manifests itself by “Neurological signs, most often visual, transient (less than 60 min) which most often precede the headache”continues the Federation. For study authors, “The preponderant role of behavioral factors and the strong association between migraine with aura highlight the need for an in -depth and personalized approach to the assessment of risk factors and stroke prevention strategies in young adults“.
