Women who smoke and have high blood pressure are 20 times more likely to have a brain haemorrhage than non-smoking men with healthy blood pressure, new research suggests.

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Women who smoke and have high blood pressure are 20 times more likely to have a brain haemorrhage than non-smoking men with healthy blood pressure, new research suggests.
The most common cause of a haemorrhage is a ruptured aneurysm but some aneurysms never rupture – currently doctors are usually unable to tell in advance which ones will and which will not.
This research could help doctors decide which patients are likely to suffer a rupture of their aneurysm and which, therefore, need treatment to prevent a haemorrhage.
The study by Helsinki University Central Hospital and Australian School of Advanced Medicine shows that the risk of a haemorrhage varies hugely depending on certain risk factors – such as gender, smoking and blood pressure.
It shows that women, smokers and people with high blood pressure are the most likely to see their aneurysm rupture.
The study was the largest ever carried out into brain haemorrhage risk factors.
It also identified three new risk factors – previous heart attack, a history of stroke in a person’s mother, and high cholesterol in men.
It had previously been established that lifestyle factors influence the life expectancy of brain haemorrhage survivors, but it has now also been established that they also influence the risk of the haemorrhage occurring in the first place.Previous studies have shown that people with type 1 diabetes have an unusually high risk of brain haemorrhages that are not caused by ruptured aneurysms.
‘We hope that our studies truly help doctors and patients, and are not only of interest in coffee tables on university campuses,’ says neurosurgeon Professor Miikka Korja, at Macquarie University Hospital, Sydney.

The study shows that women, smokers and people with high blood pressure are the most likely to see their aneurysm rupture - ruptured aneurysms are the most common cause of brain haemorrhages

Brain haemorrhages are fatal in 40 to 50 per cent of cases.
If the aneurysm is found before it ruptures, it can be treated to prevent a haemorrhage.
The findings are based on the FINRISK health examination surveys, and were published in the journal PLOS ONE.

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