Chagas increases risk of stroke

Being infected with a tropical parasitic disease known as Chagas may place the individual at an increased risk of developing stroke, a new study finds.

Latest figures have revealed that 18 million individuals in the world suffer Chagas, a disease caused by a parasite named Trypanosoma cruzi. The majority of them, however, are unaware of being infected.

According to the study published in Lancet Neurology, individuals with this disease are 33 percent more likely to experience stroke secondary to heart complications and blood clots within 30 years after the initial infection.

Scientists urged physicians to screen the stroke sufferers from endemic countries such as Latin Americans for Chagas, stressing that 42 percent of Chagas patients are only diagnosed after their first ischemic stroke.

"Educational campaigns about the high risk of stroke in Chagas disease are therefore needed in schools and public health centers," the authors wrote.

Source: presstv.ir