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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Testing showed that "on average, compared to age-matched controls, those with lesions do have subtle signs, such as loss of flexibility of talk," she said.
The incidence seen in the study did not startle Dr. Claudette Brooks, director of the neurovascular laboratory at West Virginia University Health Sciences Center.
"When I look for the cause of headaches and similar problems, it doesn't surprise me when I see these lesions, and other colleagues tell me they see them," Brooks said.
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An even higher rate of silent strokes might be expected in a study of black Americans, she noted. "They have a higher incidence of hypertension [high blood pressure], atherosclerosis, and hyperlipidemia [excess blood fat]," Brooks said.
Nothing special needs to be done to reduce the risk of silent stroke, Seshadri and Brooks both said.
"I wouldn't recommend that people rush out to have an MRI," Seshadri said. "It's up to the medical and public health community to emphasize the importance of controlling risk factors."
"The whole thing boils down to modifying risk factors," Brooks said. "If you don't have risk factors such as high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes, try to keep yourself out of the group that does. If you do, modify them by keeping blood pressure and cholesterol down, things like that."
More information
Detailed advice on preventing strokes is offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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