Children with headaches after stroke may be at risk for another stroke

A new study found a high incidence of headaches among survivors of pediatric stroke and identified a possible badociation between headache and stroke recurrence. Headaches occurred in more than one-third of participating children, on average six months after stroke. Fifteen percent of patients experienced another stroke, usually within six to 12 months of the initial stroke. In the study, most children who had had a headache during a stroke recurrence also had other neurological symptoms badociated, mainly a weakness of one side body (hemiparesis) or facial asymmetry and brain dysfunction (encephalopathy). The results were published in Neurology: clinical practice, Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"In our study, headaches after stroke were more common in patients with other stroke, suggesting that it could be a risk factor for recurrence of stroke." Stroke, "said co-author Jonathan Kurz, MD, PhD, pediatric neurologist at Ruth D. & Ken M. Davee Pediatric Neurocritical Care Program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital. Chicago and pediatric instructor at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. "Further research is needed to test this hypothesis and it remains to be determined whether treatment of headaches would reduce the risk of stroke recurrence." Children with headaches after stroke may need closer monitoring or different strategies to prevent another stroke.This requires more studies. "

The risk of stroke from birth to age 19 is about five per 100,000 children, according to the Association of Hemiplegia and Stroke. for children (CHASA). In children, the risk of stroke is higher during the first year of life, especially during the perinatal period (a few weeks before and after birth).

The study involved 115 children aged 30 days to 18 years who survived a stroke. Thirty-six percent of these children had headaches that occurred more than 30 days after their stroke. Children with headaches after a stroke tended to survive a stroke caused by arterial disease (arterial disease). Of these children, more than half had severe headaches to go to the emergency department and 81% were admitted to the hospital for headaches.

"Earlier recognition of post-stroke headaches in children could improve the care, recovery and quality of life of pediatric stroke survivors," said Dr. Kurz. "Further research will help us better understand the causes of the headache after stroke and its badociation with recurrence of stroke."

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Funding for this study was provided by Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee of Lurie Children & # 39; s Pediatric Neurocritical Care Program.

Research conducted at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago is conducted by the Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute strives to improve children's health, transform pediatric medicine, and build a healthier future through the never-ending quest for knowledge. Lurie Children's is ranked as one of the best children's hospitals in the country by the US News & World Report. This is the pediatric training ground of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Last year, the hospital served more than 212,000 children in 49 states and 51 countries.

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