Severe memory loss may warn of killer stroke

A study found a link between killer strokes and pronounced memory decline in the years preceding them.

Victims who died had suffered more severe memory loss before their stroke than those who survived.

Researchers carried out checks for signs of fading memory every two years on almost 12,000 people aged 50 and older.

Over a ten-year period, a total of 1,820 strokes were reported among the participants leading to 364 deaths. Pre-stroke memory loss was most strikingly seen in those patients who died.

“We’re most surprised that people who died after strokes had such sharp memory declines years before stroke onset,” said study leader Dr Qianyi Wang, from the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States.

The reason for the link is unknown, but may reflect underlying disease prior to a fatal stroke.

Researchers presented their findings at a conference in New Orleans.

A point scoring system based on a standard word-recall list was used to assess memory loss.

Co-author Dr Maria Glymour, also from the Harvard School of Public Health, said: “People who die after stroke may have worse underlying disease prior to stroke.

“This suggests early disease is accumulating and that something is happening to these people before they are diagnosed with clinical stroke.”