Post-natal stroke increasing, findings indicate

The rate of stroke among women and those who recently gave birth has increased dramatically over the past 12 years, according to research.

A study, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, revealed that pregnancy-related stroke hospitalisations in the US increased 54 per cent in 12 years.

Lead author Elena V Kuklina explained that healthy individuals do not have a high risk of stroke.

"Now more and more women entering pregnancy already have some type of risk factor for stroke, such as obesity, chronic hypertension, diabetes or congenital heart disease. Since pregnancy by itself is a risk factor, if you have one of these other stroke risk factors, it doubles the risk," she explained.

In other news, a study published in journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics found that among men with acute heart ailments, 30 per cent has one parent with heart attack.

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