Parents’ Early Stroke Multiplies Kids’ Risk

If your parents had a stroke by age 65, you’re more likely to have an early stroke, too, a new study suggests. The study looked at data on 3,443 people in the long-term Framingham Heart Study. They were all children of the original study participants. Researchers also looked at data on their parents. Among the parents, 106 people had strokes by age 65. Among the children, 128 had strokes during a 40-year period. Researchers then adjusted the numbers to account for other factors, such as high blood pressure, that increase stroke risk. People whose parents had early strokes were nearly 3 times as likely as others to have strokes themselves. They were 4 times as likely to have strokes by age 65. The study was published online by the journal Circulation. HealthDay News wrote about it March 8.