Here's why Asian-Americans are more prone to severe strokes

People of Asian-American origin are more likely to experience severe ischemic stroke and worse outcomes than whites, claims a study.

This happens because, compared to whites, Asian-Americans were increasingly associated with poorer functional recovery, receiving the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) less frequently, which can improve the chances of recovering from a stroke.

They also had more serious and bleeding complications with tPA, despite receiving it quickly, research showed.

"Asian-Americans may have a distinctive pathophysiologic profile of ischemic stroke than whites," said lead author Sarah Song, Assistant Professor at Rush University in Chicago.

"Regardless, this study highlights the need for more focused research, improved stroke prevention and possibly different treatment strategies for Asian Americans," Song added.

For the study, the team reviewed the clinical and functional outcomes of more than 1.77 million ischemic stroke patients, from 2004 to 2016.

The study showed that overall patients with acute ischemic stroke are recovering more and they are receiving more tPA given through an intravenous (IV) injection in the arm, with less complications and better post-stroke care.

"However, Asian-Americans and whites had nuanced differences over time; for example, only whites had a decrease in trend in stroke severity, while Asian-Americans had a greater increase in timely IV tPA administration," Song said.

The preliminary results were presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2018 in Los Angeles.

--IANS

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