CVA

Does Illicit Drug Use Increase Stroke Risk?

/ SupremeCmdr / 2 Comments

Their results, published in the International Journal of Stroke, showed substantial differences in stroke risk associated with several drugs. Cocaine and amphetamine use were each linked to roughly twice the risk of stroke (cocaine increased the risk by 96%, amphetamines by 122%), while cannabis use was associated with an increase of about 37%. Opioid use, by contrast, showed no statistically significant association with stroke risk.

The researchers also examined people under age 55 separately. Within this younger group, amphetamine use was associated with nearly three times the risk of stroke (an increase of 174%). Cannabis was linked to a smaller 14% increase in stroke risk, while cocaine use was associated with a 97% increase. University of Cambridge. “Cannabis use linked to 37% higher stroke risk in massive study.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260822015215.htm (accessed August 23, 2026).

Journal Reference:

  1. Megan Ritson, Hugh S Markus, Eric L Harshfield. Does illicit drug use increase stroke risk? A systematic review, meta-analyses, and Mendelian randomization analysis. International Journal of Stroke, 2026; 21 (6): 788 DOI: 10.1177/17474930261418926

Yikes.

Afib Linked to Silent Stroke

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

MRI indicated silent cerebral ischemia lesions in 89% patients with paroxysmal Afib and 92% with persistent Afib compared with 46% of controls, which wasn’t significantly different between the two types of Afib but was for both versus controls (P<0.01).

The number of these lesions averaged 41 in persistent Afib, 33 in paroxysmal Afib, and 12 in controls, which was significantly different for all three groups.

The high prevalence of these lesions in the control group compared with what has been reported in the general population may have reflected the moderate to high cardiovascular risk among these patients referred for cardiovascular prevention or treatment, the researchers suggested.

The lesions can have either ischemic and embolic origins, but the peculiar “spotted” distribution of “small sharply demarcated lesions, often in cluster, with bilateral distribution, prevalently in the frontal lobe” seen in 50% and 67% of the paroxysmal and persistent Afib patients, respectively, strongly supported an embolic mechanism, they noted.

via Afib Linked to Silent Stroke.

If these findings are replicated in future studies, the question for underwriters is should any Afib risk be Standard mortality?