Congenital heart defect means higher chance of stroke

Adults born with heart defects have a greater chance of stroke, according to new research published in the journal Circulation.

People with congenital heart defects may have a stroke later in life.

A congenital heart defect can be one of a wide range of conditions. Some of these can affect the person, even fatally, soon after birth; others do not show symptoms until later in adulthood.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the US, claiming nearly 129,000 lives every year, according to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA).

Stroke can be hemorrhagic, resulting from a bleed in the brain, or ischemic, when a blood clot blocks a cerebral artery.

They analyzed stroke data on 29,638 patients with congenital heart defects, aged 18-64, and compared rates with those observed in the general population of Quebec, Canada.

Adults with a congenital heart defect had a 9-12 times higher risk of ischemic stroke before the age of 55, and the risk was 2-4 times higher in patients between the ages of 55-64. They also had a 5-6 times higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke before the age of 55, and a 2-3 times higher risk between the ages of 55-64.

Of those with congenital heart defects, 8.9% of men and 6.8% of women experienced at least one stroke before age 65. Heart failure, diabetes and recent heart attacks were the strongest predictors of ischemic stroke in adults with heart defects.