Researchers interviewed 150 stroke patients at a medical center in Lima, Peru. According to a news release from the American Heart Association (AHA), nearly 60% said they suffered from some kind of sexual dysfunction. Only 10% described their sex life as optimal.

The patients’ average age was 63, and more than two-thirds were men. The most frequently reported problems were a decrease in the frequency of sexual encounters and decreased sexual desire.

Significantly, dysfunction was more related to how patients viewed their abilities than it was to their level of impairment, which was measured separately, said Dr. Victor Montalvan, the study’s lead researcher.

“The objective part of the disability was not related to sexual dysfunction,” said Montalvan, a neurologist at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. But the self-perception of seeming disabled was.

Depression and fear of having a new stroke during intercourse also were associated with dysfunction, he said.

The news release said that the findings were presented earlier this month (March 2021) at the American Stroke Association’s virtual International Stroke Conference. The research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Susan Barnason, a professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Lincoln, said the research adds to what has been “quite a paucity of information” about stroke survivors and sexuality. Despite the study’s focus on a single hospital in Peru, the findings track with what has been reported elsewhere, said Barnason, who was not involved in the new research.

Recovering sexuality after a stroke is important to a person’s overall health, she said.

“It makes the patient feel like they’re more normal,” Barnason said. She was on the committee that wrote recommendations for sexual counseling for people with cardiovascular disease issued in 2013 by the AHA and the European Society of Cardiology’s Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions. If a survivor enjoyed a healthy sex life before their stroke, recovering that life can help them understand that “you may have some paralysis or speech issues, but that doesn’t mean your whole body isn’t working.”

Montalvan said the new study’s findings on self-perceived limits reflect how people often learn to work around impairments. “There are people who are mildly disabled, but they really feel very deeply disabled. And there are people who are deeply disabled physically, but they think that they can do a lot of things.”

He gave the example of people who might have lost use of their hands but learn to paint by holding a brush in their teeth. “They feel pretty functional,” he said, despite being impaired.

Montalvan said that although stroke survivors should be cautious about physical activity, sex is not considered a specific risk factor for another stroke.

“Based on the guidelines that we reviewed, it really is not contraindicated for a person who has had a stroke in the past to continue their sexual life,” he said. “It’s actually good to restart a sexual life.”

People should talk to their doctor about making sure underlying conditions such as high blood pressure or high blood sugar are under control and be aware of possible issues from other health problems such as an irregular heartbeat or an enlarged heart, he said.

Having sex is “reasonable” after a stroke, according to the AHA, which recommends health care providers ask survivors and their partners about sexual activity during follow-up exams.

That discussion can be difficult, Barnason said. “I think as providers, we take for granted that patients will say something if they need help. But it’s important for providers to broach the topic.”

Montalvan said his research interest was prompted by the vast number of patients asking him for help with sexual issues. Sexual concerns, he said, can be overlooked during follow-up care, when patients and doctors can be focused on addressing problems with speech or weakness.

In his study, none of the 15 doctors recruited to interview patients initially said they regularly asked patients about sexual topics. The doctors cited time pressure and the idea that the problems were best addressed by other specialists.

At the end of the study, though, most said they not only would be willing to do so more frequently, but they thought the discussions prompted a stronger doctor-patient relationship.

A healthy sex life, he said, also aids stroke recovery by enhancing a couple’s relationship. People in good relationships are less likely to miss appointments, more likely to take their medication and less prone to depression.

“At the end of the day, keeping a good sexual function is good for cardiovascular health,” Montalvan said. “It’s good for emotional health.”

The American Stroke Association (ASA), a division of the American Heart Association (AHA), offers these strategies for avoiding stroke:

Check your blood pressure regularly (a healthy range is 120/80)

“Monitoring your blood pressure regularly and getting it to a healthy range is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of stroke,” said Mitchell S. V. Elkind, M.D., M.S., FAHA, FAAN, AHA president and professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University in New York City.

Control high blood pressure and lower your stroke risk

Work with your doctor and other health care professionals to manage your blood pressure through lifestyle changes and/or medication.

Take medications as prescribed. If you have been prescribed blood pressure medications, take them as directed.  Check the labels on over- the-counter cold or flu medications, as some may elevate your blood pressure.  If you have high blood pressure, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as aspirin) may cause elevated blood pressure Consider acetaminophen (Tylenol) instead.

Eat colorful fruits and veggies. A heart-healthy diet may help lower blood pressure over time.

Rest up. Getting seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night can improve brain function. Sleep-related breathing issues may increase stroke risk, so seek treatment right away if you suspect sleep apnea or a similar problem.

Meditate. Practicing mindfulness and being aware of your breathing may significantly reduce blood pressure.

Be active. Adults should get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (or a combination). Two days per week of moderate- to high-intensity muscle strengthening activity is also recommended.

But reducing stroke risk isn’t always just a matter of changing daily habits.

“Structural racism and other forms of discrimination make it more difficult for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBT and other marginalized people to access the tools they need to fully control their risk factors for stroke,” Elkind said in the AHA news release.

There is growing evidence that historically marginalized groups in the U.S. live with increased stress and reduced access to health care, socioeconomic and psychological factors. As a result, up to 40% of Black adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure and Black people who have a stroke are more than twice as likely to die from it than white people.

“At the American Stroke Association and American Heart Association,” Elkind said, “we’re working with individuals, organizations, businesses and government to address the root causes of these inequities to ensure longer, healthier lives for all. It will take all of us, coming together to make change at individual and structural levels.”

Know the most common warning signs

In addition to managing your own risks, Elkind and the ASA advise all people to be ready to save a life by remembering the most common stroke warning signs using the acronym FAST – F for face drooping, A for arm weakness, S for speech difficulty and T for time to call 911.

“Getting emergency medical treatment for a stroke is safe, even during the pandemic,” Elkind said. “Calling 911 helps treatment start even before you reach the hospital, improving chances for a better recovery.”

Previous research examined infections as triggers of stroke but were limited to the correlation of acute infections with ischemic stroke, a type of stroke caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain. This study considered a wider range of infections, and examined connections with two other types of stroke: intracerebral hemorrhage, which is caused by a ruptured blood vessel in the brain, and a type of stroke that results from bleeds in the inner lining of the brain, called subarachnoid hemorrhage.

“Healthcare providers need to be aware that stroke can be triggered by infections,” said Mandip Dhamoon, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior study author and associate professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “Probing into the previous weeks or months of a patient’s life before the stroke can sometimes help to illuminate the possible causes of stroke if there was an infection during that time.”

The researchers used the New York State Inpatient Databases and Emergency Department Databases from 2006 to 2013, which record all inpatient and emergency department visits to community hospitals in New York state. Electronic health record codes were used to identify hospitalizations and emergency department visits for the three types of stroke and for infections; including skin, urinary tract, septicemia, abdominal and respiratory. Records for hospitalizations for infections were considered for 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days prior to the stroke occurrence.

Researchers need to do more to understand how infections are associated with stroke.

For ischemic stroke, the researchers found that every infection type was linked with an increased likelihood of this type of stroke. The strongest link was seen with urinary tract infection, which showed more than three times the increased risk of ischemic stroke within 30 days of infection. For all infection types, the magnitude of stroke risk decreased as the time period before ischemic stroke occurred increased.

For intracerebral hemorrhage, the connections with occurrence was strongest for urinary tract infections, septicemia (blood infection) and respiratory infections. Respiratory infection was the only infection related to the occurrence of subarachnoid hemorrhage.

“Our study shows that we need to do more to understand why and how infections are associated with the occurrence of different kinds of stroke, and that will help us to determine what we can do to prevent these types of strokes,” Dhamoon said. “These findings suggest that there could be implications for vaccination, antibiotic regimens or intensive antithrombotic treatments not only to prevent the infections but to prevent stroke in those who are deemed high-risk.”

If they have an infection, they are likelier to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days no matter how severe or mild their stroke was, according to new research.

The study was published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

Ischemic strokes are caused by a blockage in an artery leading to the brain. Such strokes are common (see Heart Disease and Stroke Deaths Hitting Middle-Aged Adults in Large Numbers).

For their study, researchers reviewed 319,317 stroke patient records in the 2013 National Readmission Database to see if there was a relationship between in-hospital infections, such as sepsis (an infection in the blood), pneumonia, respiratory and urinary tract infections, and being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days.

Any infection was linked, overall, to a 20 percent higher risk of 30-day readmission. As for specific types of infections, the investigators found, for example, that more common infections such as urinary tract infections increased the readmission risk by 10 percent.

“Ischemic stroke patients who develop a urinary tract infection in the hospital may be candidates for earlier followup .”

“Although our study had some limitations, it appears that ischemic stroke patients who develop a urinary tract infection in the hospital may be candidates for earlier followup and closer monitoring by their healthcare team,” said Amelia K. Boehme, PhD, lead researcher and assistant professor of epidemiology in neurology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

This study highlights the importance of nursing and admission procedures targeted at preventing urinary tract infections, such as avoiding the use of indwelling catheters (a type of catheter inserted into the bladder when a person cannot urinate) as well as performing bladder ultrasounds to diagnose urinary retention. These strategies may help prevent 30-day readmissions, Boehme said.

In reality, the PH balance of the mouth is important to make sure those we care for are able to get the strength they need for therapy and understanding proper nutrition.

Here are a few of the tips:

• It goes beyond brush, floss and mouth rinse. When a victim has facial paralysis, swishing isn’t going to happen. Brushing is more difficult and what about flossing? Hard to do on your own.
• Finding the right brush and toothpaste. I recommend an electric toothbrush with a wider handle. I also recommend a child or youth toothbrush head so that the caregiver can go further back in the mouth and disturb any bacteria. Also, it’s important to use a paste with fluoride.
• Flossing is hard. There are dexterity issues involved after stroke. I recommend going with an interdental pick in between teeth. The caregiver should ask the one receiving care what they’re comfortable with and offer assistance.
• Wipe the inside of mouth. It’s important to wipe the inside of the mouth to remove any food that may have been lodged. I suggest using an index finger baby wipe with Xylitol to wipe out the vestibule.
• Spray instead of rinse. Rinsing is going to be nearly impossible. I recommend using a spray like Lubricity instead. The idea is to stimulate saliva so it can help with chewing and processing food to the body for strength.

Anastasia Turchetta is a health empowerment conversationalist with 30 years in the healthcare profession.

She has been a YouTube personality since 2009 and is the host of the popular Coffee ChatTM with Anastasia, where she delivers rich content about how to align your emotional, physical and financial health and lead a productive and successful life.

You can learn more about Anastasia at her website, on Facebook and Twitter. 

In a release from the American Stroke Association, the group said: An increasing number of young adults are suffering ischemic stroke, which is the most common stroke type. Tobacco use is on the rise among young adults. It is already established that the more young women smoke the greater their stroke risk; however, little is known about young men’s stroke risk from smoking.

“The key takeaway from our study on men younger than 50 is ‘the more you smoke, the more you stroke,’” said lead study author Janina Markidan, B.A., a medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Researchers studied 615 young men (age 15-49) who had a stroke in the prior three years. Researchers compared the men with stroke to 530 healthy men in the same age range. They also categorized participants as never smokers, former smokers and current smokers. Current smokers were divided into groups based on the number of cigarettes smoked daily, 1 to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 39 or 40 or more.

According to the news release, researchers found:

• Men who smoked were 88 percent more likely to have a stroke than men who never smoked.
• Among current smokers, men who smoked fewer than 11 cigarettes daily were 46 percent more likely to have a stroke than those who never smoked.
• But the heavier smokers, smoking at least two packs a day, were nearly 5 times more likely to have a stroke than those who never smoked.

“The goal is to get these young men to stop smoking; however, if they can smoke fewer cigarettes it could help reduce their stroke risk,” Markidan said.

Researchers did not record the concurrent use of other tobacco products that h could have affected results. They also did not control for factors such as alcohol consumption, physical activity or recall bias. However, similar findings in a Swedish study, suggested that there was not a major effect from recall bias.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health funded the study.

Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations and health insurance providers are available at www.heart.org/corporate funding.

About the American Stroke Association

The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke — the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit www.StrokeAssociation.org.

The guideline, based on the most recent science available, was published in the Association’s journal Stroke, and released during the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2018, the premier global meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the prevention and treatment of stroke.

A major new recommendation increases the window of time for selected patients who are eligible to have blood clots mechanically removed from vessels supplying the brain. Mechanical clot removal is only advisable in clots that block large vessels. The guideline recommends that large vessel strokes can safely be treated with mechanical thrombectomy up to 16 hours after a stroke in selected patients. Under certain conditions, based on advanced brain imaging, some patients may have up to 24 hours. The previous time limit was six hours.

During the procedure, known as a mechanical thrombectomy, a physician uses a device within a catheter (a thin tube threaded inside an artery) to grab and remove the clot. The procedure has proven effective in limiting the risk of disability when used to treat blockages in the larger vessels leading to the brain.

“The expanded time window for mechanical thrombectomy for appropriate patients will allow us to help more patients lower their risk of disability from stroke,” said William J. Powers, M.D., the guideline writing group chair and professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “That’s a big deal. That’s potentially a lot more people who could benefit, and it has completely changed the landscape of acute stroke treatment.”

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, in conjunction with The Joint Commission, have created a new level of hospital certification for Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Centers to identify hospitals that meet rigorous standards for performing mechanical endovascular thrombectomy.

Another new recommendation broadens the eligibility for administering a clot-busting IV drug called alteplase – a type of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) – the only FDA-approved clot-dissolving treatment for ischemic stroke. Previously, patients with mild strokes were not eligible for clot-busting treatment, but new research suggests it could help some of these patients. The guideline says doctors should weigh the risks and benefits in individual patients, because the drug can decrease disability when given promptly and appropriately.

“It potentially increases the number of people the getting intravenous clot-busting treatment,” Powers said.

An unchanged but important guideline recommendation is the need for fast action when a person shows the symptoms of a stroke.

“It’s better to call 911 than to have somebody drive a stroke patient to the hospital. Hospitals are set up to immediately treat acute stroke patients arriving by ambulance,” Powers said. “In many patients, getting to the hospital quickly is the difference between living a life of disability or one free of disability from stroke.”

For hospitals that don’t have access to neurologists or emergency room doctors trained to use the clot-dissolving medication, the guidelines recommend connecting those hospitals to stroke experts in real time via videoconferencing, Powers said. Research shows patients treated via this “telestroke” approach received the same quality of care as they would have at stroke centers with a neurologist on call.

Stroke is the second-leading cause of death in the world and a leading cause of adult disability. The new guidelines cover acute ischemic strokes, the most common type of stroke, which occur when a blood clot blocks an artery leading to the brain and reduces or stops blood flow. Someone in the U.S. has a stroke about once every 40 seconds, and stroke kills about 133,000 Americans each year. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 87 percent of all strokes.

The guideline is based on a review of over 400 peer-reviewed published studies. The studies were examined by a group of experts in stroke care and are the most comprehensive recommendations for treating ischemic stroke issued since 2013.

How to recognize a stroke F.A.S.T.

• F – Face Drooping: Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
• A – Arm Weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
• S – Speech Difficulty: Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?
• T – Time to call 9-1-1: If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital immediately.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association receives funding mostly from individuals. Foundations and corporations donate as well, and fund specific programs and events. Strict policies are enforced to prevent these relationships from influencing the association’s science content. Financial information for the American Heart Association, including a list of contributions from pharmaceutical and device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

About the American Stroke Association

The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke — the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit http://www.strokeassociation.org/.

Historically, the introduction of operating microscopes enabled surgeons to perform delicate microsurgeries to clear clogged arteries and remove blood clots that cause strokes. More recently, physicians have begun using minimally invasive endovascular techniques.

“The last 50 to 60 years have witnessed an explosive evolution of techniques geared at restoring blood flow to compromised regions of the brain,” senior author Camilo R. Gomez, MD, and colleagues wrote in a paper published in the Nov. 9, 2017 MedLink Neurology.

Gomez is medical director of neuroendovascular surgery and a professor in the department of neurology of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Endovascular techniques do not require invasive open surgery. The physician employs catheters (thin tubes) that are guided through blood vessels to the brain. From the tip of the catheter, the physician deploys stents or other devices to restore blood flow These endovascular (operating inside blood vessels) techniques have “amplified the dimensions of care for many patients whose therapeutic options were previously limited,” the authors wrote.

Cerebral vascular insufficiency- not enough blood flow to the brain – increases the risk of stroke and is a major cause of neurologic death and disability worldwide. It is typically caused by atherosclerosis (buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances that clog arteries that supply blood to the brain).

Techniques and procedures used to improve blood flow to the brain are similar to those used in heart procedures. They include bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty and stenting (the insertion of a tubular device to restore blood flow).

One of the latest devices is called a stent retriever (also known as a stentriever). The device, a self-expanding mesh tube attached to a wire, is guided through blood vessels to a clot that is blocking blood flow to a part of the brain. The device pushes the blood clot against the wall of the blood vessel, immediately restoring blood flow. The stent retriever then is used to grab the clot, which is pulled out when the physician removes the catheter.

Gomez began performing neuroendovascular procedures more than 20 years ago, when the field was in its infancy. During that time, he said, there has been a tremendous improvement in both devices and techniques. “The chances a stroke patient will have a good outcome are two to three times better now than they were 10 to 15 years ago,” Gomez said.

Modern endovascular techniques can, in effect, stop a stroke in its tracks by removing blockages. Patients with the largest blockages and most devastating strokes are deriving the greatest benefits, said Loyola neurosurgeon Joseph C. Serrone, MD, one of the co-authors of the paper. “Seven clinical trials have shown that endovascular techniques restore significant function in these patients,” Serrone said.

In the past two decades, there have been tremendous advancements in the way ischemic strokes are treated, said Loyola neurosurgeon Matthew R. Reynolds, MD, PhD, also a co-author of the paper. “With the advent of mechanical thrombectomy (blood clot removal) and minimally-invasive techniques, patients who otherwise would be permanently disabled from stroke can often lead normal, productive lives,” Reynolds said. “It’s an exciting time to be an endovascular neurosurgeon.”

For patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attacks (“mini-stroke”), the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends statin therapy to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke and other cardiovascular events. Statins are the only cholesterol-lowering drug class that have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke.

Compared to other areas, death from stroke is more common in the southeastern United States — the so-called Stroke Belt — of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Previous studies have shown, however, that statin prescriptions are lower among stroke patients discharged in the south and among blacks, women and older patients.

According to a news release from the American Heart Association, to evaluate the magnitude of these differences by age, sex, and race inside and outside of the Stroke Belt, researchers in a new study compared statin use between different groups of patients with ischemic stroke, both in and outside the Stroke Belt.

The study found that 49 percent of stroke patients, overall, received a prescription for statins at hospital discharge, and the percentage of patients receiving prescriptions increased over the course of the 10-year study. Unlike previous research, the study did not find that black patients were less likely than whites to receive statins. In fact, the study found, outside of the Stroke Belt black patients were more likely than white patients to receive statins. The study also found other differences between Stroke Belt and non-Stroke Belt residents according to age and sex:

AGE

In the Stroke Belt, patients age 65 and older were significantly less likely (47 percent) than younger patients to receive statins.

In the Non-Stroke Belt, there was no age difference in receiving statins.

SEX

In the Stroke Belt, men were significantly less likely (31 percent) than women to receive statins.

In the Non-Stroke Belt, men were significantly more likely (38 percent) than women to receive statins.

RACE

In the Stroke Belt, there was no difference in receiving statins.

In the Non-Stroke Belt, blacks were significantly more likely (42 percent) than whites to receive statins.

“All survivors of ischemic stroke should be evaluated to determine whether they could benefit from a statin, regardless of the patient’s age, race, sex or geographic residence,” said study lead author Karen Albright, Ph.D., D.O., M.P.H., advanced fellow in the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, at the Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama.

The researchers looked at demographic and health information, including stroke risk factors, for 323 stroke patients participating in a national study of more than 30,000 U.S. adults age 45 and older from 2003 to 2013. The study used computer-assisted telephone interviews, questionnaires, an in-home examination, and medical records from the stroke hospitalization and discharge.

“In patients hospitalized for stroke, opportunities exist to improve statin prescribing on discharge,” Albright said.

The study relied upon medical records for use of statins, which could have led to incorrect estimates of the number of statin users. Another limitation is that it only included patients who reported that they were not taking a statin when admitted to the hospital, which could have also affected the study’s results.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Stroke database, quality improvement initiative has helped participating hospitals increase the adherence to statin prescribing guidelines significantly over the past 10 years, from 61.6 percent in 2003 to 97.8 percent in 2016.

Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations and health insurance providers are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

A variety of interventions that engage patients in physical, sensory, mental and social activities target a range of functions at the same time, investigators said. Researchers said this combination of different activities and stimuli, rather than the individual components, appears to produce additional beneficial effects for stroke recovery.

“Significant improvements are still possible, even years after a stroke, using motivating, comprehensive therapies provided in stimulating physical and social surroundings to increase brain activity and recovery,” Michael Nilsson, M.D., Ph.D. senior author and Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute and Professor at the University of Newcastle in Australia and University of Gothenburg, Sweden, said in a news release from the AHA.

Researchers studied 123 Swedish men and women (age 50-75) who had suffered strokes between 10 months and 5 years earlier. Survivors were randomly assigned to rhythm-and-music therapy, horse-riding therapy or ordinary care (the control group). The therapies were given twice a week for 12 weeks.

Researchers found that among the survivors who felt they experienced an increased perception of recovery:

• 56 percent were in the horse-riding group;
• 38 percent in the rhythm and music group; and
• 17 percent in the “control or usual care” group.

The perception of recovery was sustained at three-month and six-month follow-ups.

Horse-riding therapy produces a multisensory environment and the three-dimensional movements of the horse’s back create a sensory experience that closely resembles normal human gait and is beneficial for stroke survivors.

In rhythm-and-music therapy patients listen to music while performing rhythmic and cognitively demanding hand and feet movements to visual and audio cues. Researchers found that the rhythm-and-music activity helped survivors with balance, grip-strength and working memory.

According to the AHA news release, limitations of the study include the relatively small number of participants, and survivors with severe disabilities could not be considered for the therapy. In addition, researchers doubt these therapies would be cost-effective if patients with mild deficiencies had been included.

Further analyses of the study results and follow-up studies involving more participants are planned to help determine efficiency, timing and costs.

Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events.The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations and health insurance providers are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

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