In the wake of a traumatic brain injury, a victim may have more to worry about than lingering headaches, dizziness or inability to concentrate: A new study finds that the risk of ischemic stroke — in which blood flow to the brain is blocked or reduced — rises significantly in the years that follow.
That finding, published in the journal Neurology, may help explain the incidence of stroke in patients under 65 and in patients without some of stroke's known risk factors, such as hypertension, Type 2 diabetes or atrial fibrillation.
The findings are based on the records of California trauma patients seen in emergency rooms between 2005 and 2009.
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