Two Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork–Presbyterian investigators gave oral presentations at the International Stroke Conference on Feb. 23.

Dr. Santosh Murthy, an assistant professor of neurology and of neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine and a neurologist at NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, presented on the risk and timing of arterial thromboembolic events such as stroke and heart attack, in which a clot obstructs blood flow to an artery, after a brain hemorrhage. Using data from a nationally representative sampling of Medicare beneficiaries from 2008–2014, the research team sought to determine the magnitude and duration of patients’ risk of having a stroke or heart attack after experiencing an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), which are reported as common complications. The team’s findings suggest that there is nearly a 10–fold heightened short–term risk of arterial thromboembolic events after acute ICH, highlighting the importance of further studies to stratify this risk and identify optimal treatment strategies in reducing it.

Dr. Matthew Mercuri, a neurology resident at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, presented on the association between epilepsy and the risk of stroke or heart attack. The research team analyzed inpatient and outpatient claims data from 2008–2014 of patients ages 66 or older who had epilepsy and later developed a stroke or heart attack to determine if seizures in elderly patients were associated with an increased risk of either event. The team found that elderly patients with epilepsy have a greater risk of future stroke, but not acute heart attack, after statistically adjusting for established stroke and heart attack risk factors. Seizures might therefore indicate hidden cerebrovascular disease but not necessarily hidden disease in other blood vessels.