This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Race not linked with greater risk for recurrent stroke
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Despite a three-times-higher risk for first stroke among black adults compared with white adults, black race does not appear to increase risk for recurrent stroke, according to a new report published in Neurology.
George Howard
George Howard, DrPH, from the department of biostatistics at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, said in a press release that “the interaction between black race and age appears to be remarkably different for the risk for first vs. second stroke.” In this study, “there was very little difference in race for the risk of a second stroke,” he said.
Howard and colleagues investigated differences in risk factors between first and recurrent stroke using data from the REGARDS study (n = 29,682).
In an interview with Cardiology Today, Howard said, “There have been a lot of studies that looked at risk factors for initial stroke and some have looked at risk factors for a second stroke, but this is the first to look at both.”
Overall, 2,992 (10%) participants had a history of stroke at baseline. During 6.8 years of follow-up, 301 (10.1%) had recurrent stroke. Among the 26,689 participants who were free of stroke at baseline, 818 (3.1%) experienced a first stroke during follow-up.
The researchers observed an interaction between age and race (P = .0002) for first stroke among participants who were stroke free at baseline. Black participants had a 2.7 times higher risk than white participants at age 45 years; however, the researchers observed no racial disparity in first stroke risk at age 85 years. Risk for first stroke increased 2.15 times per 10 years among white participants and 1.63 times per 10 years among black participants. By age 85 years, there was no observable difference in first stroke risk between the two groups.
The findings yielded no evidence of a “race-by-age interaction” for recurrent stroke. The risk for recurrent stroke was 11% higher among black participants compared with white participants.
“Almost all of the ‘traditional’ risk factors for a first stroke proved to also be a risk factor for a second stroke, suggesting that controlling these risk factors may help avoid both conditions. These risk factors include heart disease, high BP, diabetes, smoking, irregular heartbeat and others,” Howard said in a press release.
He told Cardiology Today that black adults aged 45 to 65 years have a greater risk for stroke than white adults. Howard said it is important to “work diligently to prevent and aggressively treat risk factors like high BP.” – by Tracey Romero
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts