AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Stroke, Tobacco Research / 23.07.2016
Even Light Smoking Elevates Risk of Brain Bleeding From Intracranial Aneurysm
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Joni Valdemar Lindbohm, MD
Department of Public Health
University of Helsinki, Finland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Approximately 1-6% percent of people carry an unruptured intracranial aneurysm but most of these never rupture during lifetime and cause subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In SAH, the rupture of an aneurysm causes bleeding into the lining between the brain’s surface and underlying tissue. Despite advances in operative techniques, SAH can lead to death in up to 45% of the cases. Because life style risk factors are critical in development of subarachnoid hemorrhage, it is important to characterize the risk factor profile of those with an elevated risk.
Widely accepted risk factors for SAH are increasing age, smoking, hypertension and female sex. However, the reasons for an elevated risk in women have remained uncovered and the effect of smoking habits are not well understood.
(more…)