Hi Caz,
We are so sorry to hear about your recent stroke.
It’s completely understandable to want to know the chances of having another stroke. Reading other people’s stories or going to Dr Google can be very daunting and not necessarily give an accurate picture of your own risk.
Once you’ve had a stroke or a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), your risk of having another stroke is higher than someone who hasn’t had a stroke or a TIA.
The more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of recurrent stroke.
In addition to this if you’re not managing your risk factors well (blood pressure, cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, diet, exercise, smoking etc) then this would also affect your risk. Taking medication as prescribed is very important to reduce future risk.
As we get older our risk of stroke also increases.
An older statistic suggests that about four in ten people who have had a stroke, go on to have another one within ten years.
Another study suggests “A person with stroke has an accumulated risk of subsequent stroke of 43% over 10 years, with an annual rate of approximately 4%.”
This comes from a study published in 2004, which followed up people who’d had a stroke, over a ten-year period. This paper doesn’t say anything about what, if anything, those people had done to prevent their second stroke. There was nothing to stop them reducing their stroke risk, but there was also no follow-up to see whether they were sticking to their medication and lifestyle recommendations.
We recommend all stroke survivors discuss the risk of second stroke with their neurologist as statistics provide pretty raw and general figures. They don't necessarily take into account your age, cause of stroke, the number of risk factors unique to you, your other medical or family history and compliance with stroke preventative medication etc.
Approximately 30% of stroke survivors have an ischaemic stroke or TIA with an unknown cause or origin. This is called a cryptogenic stroke. It sounds like you might fit into this group. Based on new research we have recently updated our Living Guidelines for Stroke Management on PFO closure that you may be interested in reading. Have your doctors recommended PFO closure?
Here is a link to our podcast on fear of second stroke which you might find helpful and our stroke prevention fact sheet.
If you have ongoing concerns about your risk of another stroke we do suggest giving us a call to discuss or speaking about it with your doctors. We can discuss your individual risk factors and how to minimise your risk of another stroke.
We hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to call us on StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) to speak with a health professional.
Best wishes,
Simone and Chloe (StrokeLine)
