Older age, previous stroke and diabetes increased the risk of a stroke occurring following a heart attack, a recent study found. Strokes were associated with a large increase in the risk for death after a heart attack.

"While our research reaffirmed the risk of stroke among patients with heart disease, the surprise was that the risk was so high in the month after a heart attack," says Veronique Roger, MD, MPH., the cardiologist who led the study.

"A lot of patients survive heart attacks today, which is why this study is so relevant," she says. "It emphasizes the importance of worrying about other things that can happen beyond heart attacks, stroke being one of them."

Older Age, Previous Stroke, Diabetes

In addition to the heightened risk in the first 30 days, the stroke risk remained two to three times higher than expected during the first three years following the heart attack, the research team found.

Older age, previous stroke and diabetes increased the risk, Dr. Roger says, noting that strokes were associated with a large increase in the risk for death after a heart attack.

The risk of stroke did not change over time, the researchers learned. It did not decrease in the 20-year period of the study, Dr. Roger says.

Wake-up Call

The results can serve as a wake-up call to healthcare providers and patients to address this increased risk of stroke.

Heart-attack patients take certain medications, such as beta blockers, aspirin and those aimed at reducing cholesterol levels, which help with improving their long-term health, Dr. Roger points out.

Smoking cessation, exercising regularly and eating healthy foods also are effective at preventing cardiovascular disease, she says.

Further studies will help define what can more specifically be done to prevent strokes after heart attacks, she notes.