A new studypoints to an increased risk of suffering a stroke after a traumatic brain injury. The study found that persons who had suffered a brain injury have a ten-times higher risk of suffering a stroke during the first three months after injury. This means that anyone involved in a car accident, construction accident or any other trauma that results in a traumatic brain injury has a much higher likelihood of suffering a stroke.
The results of the study have been published in the online issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, and confirms that a traumatic brain injury can increase the risk of suffering a stroke over five years.The researchers based their results on an analysis of data of about 23,000 patients from a Taiwanese database.All these persons had suffered a traumatic brain injury.These people were then compared to people with no history of brain injury.The researchers monitored their susceptibility to stoke over a period of 5 years.
The increase is the most dramatic during the first three months after the TBI.After one year, the stroke risk went down substantially, but it was still at least 4.6 times higher than among people who did not have a traumatic brain injury.After five years, the stroke risk was 2.3 times higher than among patients with no brain injury.
This is the first study that specifically links brain injury to a higher risk of stroke.Other studies in the past have indicated to Atlanta personal injury lawyers that a traumatic brain injury can increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.Other studies have shown an association between brain injury and dementia and epilepsy.
The researchers have no explanation for why there is a higher risk of stroke in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury recently.However, they do believe that it has something to do with the fact that a brain injury can damage blood cells, and can interfere with the ability of the cells to carry oxygen.This creates ideal conditions for a stroke.Persons who have suffered a skull fracture in an auto accident may be at higher risk of stroke.
The researchers are calling for more attention to be drawn to stroke risks after suffering a traumatic brain injury.Persons who have suffered a TBI and their families should be made aware about the signs of a stroke.
Every year, more than 1.7 million brain injuries occur in the US, and most of these occur in auto accidents and slip and fall accidents.Persons in some kind of accidents like motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents may be at a high risk of brain injuries, because of the lack of protection against head trauma.A motorcycle helmet can protect a person from brain injury to some extent, but it cannot guarantee 100% protection against a TBI.Pedestrians have some of the worst TBI risks during an accident, because they have no protection from traumatic brain injury.Slip and fall accidents, especially when a person lands on the head causing a skull fracture, also account for hundreds of thousands of brain injuries every year. These types of studies are extremely helpful in expanding the base of knowledge about the results of trauma. As a personal injury attorney, I have often had clients developing new medical issues after a trauma. However, demonstrating the relationship of the new medical issue with the trauma is often difficult, if not impossible. Studies of this nature do not completely solve this evidentiary issue, but they should help in the long run.