Stroke Awareness Foundation

11/14/2025

Free Essential Booklets for Stroke Recovery. These booklets will provide the knowledge and resources you need to regain independence and enhance your quality of life. Explore these Quickread Booklets, written and read to you by Deb Shaw, the author, a three-time ischemic stroke survivor, and the Founder of Champion The Challenges

Read or Listen here:
https://www.strokeinfo.org/champion-the-challenges-post-stroke-care-booklets/
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11/12/2025

Nine days after a Maryland woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl, her world changed.

After an uneventful pregnancy, Erin Adelekun had a life-threatening postpartum stroke so sudden and severe that a neurosurgeon had to remove a large piece of her skull to save her life.

A headache was Adelekun’s first sign that she was having a stroke. It started before she even left the hospital with her newborn in August 2020.

“I had a headache when I was discharged. Eight days later, I had another headache, but it was worse. I took Tylenol. I thought it was because I wasn't sleeping. I was a new mom,” she said.

She was unconscious for almost a month after a neurosurgeon removed a part of her skull to relieve pressure. As she recovered in a rehab hospital for two months, she had a lot to relearn. “Just like a baby, I had to relearn everything I had to. Walking, getting dressed with one hand. Some words, easy words, I couldn't say,” she said.

Adelekun was unaware of her stroke risk. She wants other women to know that in the three months before and after giving birth, the risk of having a stroke can triple.

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https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/stroke-mama-shares-warning-signs-after-surviving-postpartum-crisis/4012362/

11/10/2025

Oral hygiene has been linked to multiple health conditions, including dementia and diabetes. Now, research shows that people with both gum disease and more tooth cavities also have a notably higher risk of stroke.

Both have been individually associated with stroke in the past, but few studies have analyzed the conditions in combination. So a study led by a team from the University of South Carolina restricted their investigation to individuals with cases of periodontal disease and dental caries.

"We found that people with both cavities and gum disease had almost twice the risk of stroke when compared to people with good oral health, even after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors," says Souvik Sen, the chair of the neurology department at the University of South Carolina.

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https://www.sciencealert.com/21-year-study-links-gum-disease-and-cavities-to-higher-stroke-risk

11/07/2025

New study finds COVID and flu raise cardiovascular disease risk for weeks after infection. An independent study showed that people who contracted COVID or influenza faced a "dramatically" greater risk of heart attack or stroke — up to three or five times higher — in the weeks following the infection.

The researchers reviewed 155 scientific studies to arrive at these findings, which were published this week in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Our study found acute and chronic viral infections are linked to both short- and long-term risks of cardiovascular disease, including strokes and heart attacks."

The researchers found that people are four times as likely to have a heart attack and five times more likely to have a stroke in the month after a positive flu test, according to an AHA press release.

In the 14 weeks after contracting COVID, people were three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, and had an elevated risk for up to a year.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/common-viruses-linked-dramatic-spike-heart-attack-stroke-risk

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Viral infections trigger inflammation that raises heart disease risk, study finds. Vaccination against COVID, flu and shingles may help prevent cardiovascular complications.

11/07/2025

Harvard researchers have found that people who drink three or more alcoholic drinks a day may suffer a stroke more than a decade earlier than people who drink less.

In the new study, heavy drinkers (those that drink three or more drinks per day) experienced brain bleeds at an average age of 64, compared to 75 for non-heavy drinkers, an 11-year gap. Their brain bleeds were also 70% larger on average.

Heavy drinkers were also twice as likely to have bleeding deep in the brain and nearly twice as likely to have bleeding that spread into the brain’s fluid-filled spaces, a serious complication called intraventricular extension, the study found.

Additionally, they were three times more likely to have severe white matter damage, which is linked to long-term cognitive decline and brain aging.

"Reducing heavy alcohol use may not only lower a person’s risk of bleeding stroke, but it may also slow the progression of cerebral small vessel disease, which in turn may reduce the chances of having another stroke, cognitive decline and long-term disability," said Dr. M. Edip Gurol of Harvard University.

Read more here: https://www.foxnews.com/health/higher-stroke-risk-linked-consuming-certain-amount-alcohol-study-finds

Heavy drinking is linked to strokes 11 years earlier than light drinkers, new study reveals. Three drinks daily may accelerate brain damage significantly, according to researchers.

11/05/2025

Load the App and Save a Life. Download our free stroke app. Our app helps you locate stroke centers near you, quickly identify stroke warning signs, and notify emergency contacts of your location and that you are having a stroke.

To learn more about our app and to download visit: https://www.strokeinfo.org/mobile-app/

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11/03/2025

Read or listen to stories of resilience, inspiration, and hope from stroke survivors. Check out these stories as well as stroke recovery resources on our website:
https://www.strokeinfo.org/local-stroke-stories/

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10/31/2025

A new study led by Flinders University has found that being exposed to bright light at night can significantly increase the chances of developing serious heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes and heart failure.

The research is the largest study of its kind to explore how personal light exposure affects heart health using data from nearly 89,000 people in the UK.

Using wrist-worn sensors, researchers from FHMRI Sleep Health tracked over 13 million hours of light exposure and followed participants for up to 9.5 years.

The study found that people who were exposed to the brightest light at night were much more likely to develop heart problems, with a 56% higher chance of heart failure and 47% more likely to have a heart attack.

These risks remained high even after accounting for other factors like exercise, diet, sleep habits and genetics.

"Disrupting your body's internal circadian clock by repeatedly exposing yourself to bright light at night, when it would typically be dark otherwise, will put you at a higher risk of developing dangerous heart issues." says Dr. Daniel Windred, lead author and Research Associate at Flinders University's FHMRI Sleep Health.

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-nighttime-exposure-linked-higher-heart.html

10/29/2025

October 29th is World Stroke Day.

Stroke is the #1 Cause of Disability in the US.

795,000 Americans experience a stroke each year — and two-thirds are left disabled.

1 in 5 Women and 1 in 6 Men will suffer stroke in their lifetime

Stroke is Treatable and 80% Preventable by managing stroke risk factors.

Call 911 immediately at the first sign — quick action saves lives.

Learn the Signs of Stroke Here:
https://www.strokeinfo.org/signs/en/

https://conta.cc/3Lf2F9h

Email from Stroke Awareness Foundation Knowing the Signs of Stroke can Save Lives. Learn BEFAST.   Stroke is the #1 Cause of Disability in the US. 795,000 Americans experience a stroke each year — an

10/27/2025

Study finds gum disease could be linked to an increased risk of stroke and brain damage. Keeping your mouth healthy may help keep your heart and brain healthy too, according to new research.

In a study published Wednesday in Neurology Open Access, researchers found adults with gum disease may be more likely to have signs of damage to the brain's white matter than people without gum disease.

"Gum disease is associated with a higher chance of inflammation, and inflammation has been tied to atherosclerosis as well as hardening of the small blood vessels, as we saw in this study," study author Dr. Souvik Sen told CBS News. Arteriosclerosis is a disease that causes abnormal thickening of the artery walls.

In another study led by Sen and published in the same journal Wednesday, researchers found having both gum disease and cavities is linked to an 86% increased risk of stroke compared to people with healthy mouths.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gum-disease-increased-risk-stroke-brain-damage-study/

10/24/2025

In 2020, Craig Ames experienced a stroke that left him unable to use the right side of his body — but through perseverance, rehab, and determination, he found his way forward. Writing became a powerful tool in his healing, and he hopes Survivor Warrior helps other survivors find strength and hope in their own journeys.

Designed to support physical, emotional, and mental healing, this motivational workbook provides the tools you need to track progress, process emotions, and set goals as you rebuild your life after a stroke.

Check out this great resource for stroke survivors and their caregivers: https://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Warrior-Overcoming-Craig-Ames/dp/B0DS5WH3SV

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10/22/2025

Stroke experts call for ethical guardrails as AI expands in clinical research.

As artificial intelligence (AI) use continues to grow in nearly every industry, it is important to establish guardrails to make sure the technology is used ethically and responsibly. This is especially true in the field of medicine, where errors can be a matter of life and death and patient information must be protected.

A group of stroke physicians, researchers and industry representatives discussed the current use and future of AI in stroke clinical trial design at the Stroke Treatment Academic Industry Roundtable meeting.

Doctors emphasized the importance of designing "human in the loop" systems that require human input and expertise in the training and use of AI models.

Whether using machine learning or generative models, stroke researchers will need to be proactive in making sure data sets are robust and account for data from different scanner manufacturers, institutions and patients to improve generalizability.

Researchers will also need to develop strict protocols and safeguards to keep patient information used to train the models private and HIPAA compliant. This could look like independent third parties such as the American Heart Association centrally collecting anonymized patient data before it is fed to AI models, or training models with data only from each individual institution before sharing the learned parameters more broadly.

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https://www.news-medical.net/news/20251017/Stroke-experts-call-for-ethical-guardrails-as-AI-expands-in-clinical-research.aspx