People above the age of 55 are most susceptible to having stroke, but increasingly, more young adults are being affected, including children. In the UK, it is estimated that 400 children have stroke each year, according to Brain Research UK. Now, a new research is suggesting that your blood type could be useful in determining your risk of a stroke.
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Highest and lowest risk types
Researchers at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine compared the blood type of those who have had a stroke at a younger age versus those who were either older when they had one or never experienced one at all.
The findings, published in the Neurology journal on Wednesday, show that those with blood type A were more likely to have an early stroke (16% higher risk) and those with blood type O had the lowest risk (12%). Steven J. Kittner, study co-principal investigator said:
The number of people with early strokes is rising. These people are more likely to die from the life-threatening event, and survivors potentially face decades with disability. Despite this, there is little research on the causes of early stroke.
Limitations
What the research could not establish was what accounts for the correlation between stroke risk and blood type, but they theorized that it could potentially be related to the development of blood clots. A stroke, which is the loss of brain function after a brain blood vessel is blocked or ruptures, can happen due to heart problems or a clotting disorder, according to CTV News. Dr Kittner explained:
It likely has something to do with blood-clotting factors like platelets and cells that line the blood vessels as well as other circulating proteins, all of which play a role in the development of blood clots
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