A traumatic brain injury can be caused in car accidents, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, and slip and fall accidents. A fall from a height, for instance, is significantly likely to result in an injury to the brain. Traumatic brain injuries can have long-term consequences that can significantly impair quality of life. The long-term impact of the injury may make it difficult for a person who has suffered the injury to go back to work and earn a living at the level that he was earning before he suffered the accident.
Persons who have suffered a traumatic brain injury may have a risk of stroke that is much higher than previously believed. These findings came from a recent study which found that military veterans who have suffered a brain injury have a higher stroke risk.
The results of the study were presented recently at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Conference. Researchers looked at data involving veterans who had suffered a brain injury between October 2002 and September 2019 from the Veteran’s Health Administration database. The stroke risk of these people was compared with another group of people who had not suffered a traumatic brain injury.
The researchers found that the risk of a stroke in the years following a brain injury was significantly higher, depending on the type of stroke. The risk, for instance, was found to be approximately 56% higher in the case of an ischemic stroke. An ischemic stroke is one in which there is a block in the flow of blood to the brain. The risk was significantly higher in the case of a hemorrhagic stroke in which there is bleeding inside the brain. The risk of this kind of stroke was approximately 4 times higher in the case of veterans who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, compared to those who had not suffered such an injury. Overall, the risk of a stroke increased by a significant 69% when a person had suffered a traumatic brain injury, compared to people who had not suffered or were not living with a traumatic brain injury.
The researchers believe that the study needs to be replicated in the general population to understand whether these risks are also higher for civilians who have suffered a brain injury. They do warn, however, that it is important for anyone who has suffered a brain injury, whether civilian or military personnel, to be aware of the higher stroke risks that they now suffer from, and what they can do in terms of changes to their lifestyle, diet and other habits to reduce those stroke risks. For instance, it is understood clearly that controlling high blood pressure and diabetes can lower a person’s risk of suffering a stroke. If you are currently living with a brain injury, the need to control those risk factors may be even more severe.
If you or a loved one have suffered a traumatic brain injury, talk to an Atlanta accident lawyer at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers and determine if you have legal rights to a claim for damages.