Mexican-Americans have higher stroke risk

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ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Mexican-Americans have an increased risk of stroke compared with non-Hispanic whites, according to a study led by the University of Michigan.

Study leader Lynda D. Lisabeth, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Mich., identified stroke cases in Nueces County, Texas, as part of the BASIC project, a stroke surveillance project designed to study strokes in this isolated, urban community.

Between 2000 and 2004 researchers identified 1,345 patients who had their first stroke by analyzing hospital, nursing home and neurologists' records. A total of 53 percent of these patients were Mexican-Americans and 126 had a recurrent stroke.

"Recurrent stroke risk differed significantly by ethnicity, with Mexican-Americans having higher recurrence risk," the authors state in the September issue of Annals of Neurology.

"The differences seemed to be the largest for younger ages. In addition, stroke recurrence was significantly associated with risk of dying, but this was not affected by ethnicity."