Stroke is one of the most devastating health outcomes an individual can experience – it leaves many with permanent disability. Risk factors for having a stroke are shared with those for developing heart failure – a condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands. There is early research suggesting that people who survive a stroke are at a higher risk of developing heart failure. These people are particularly vulnerable and are more likely to struggle with the limitations imposed by heart failure including shortness of breath, multiple medications and regular healthcare follow up.
However, little is understood about what the real risk of heart failure is in stroke survivors and how to predict who is likely to suffer heart failure after a stroke. Furthermore, we do not know if suffering heart failure after a stroke increases a person’s risk for dying early.
Using the large UK biobank dataset, we want to answer these questions. We hope to study what proportion of people do suffer heart failure after a stroke compared to the rate in those who have not suffered stroke. We will also determine what the biggest factors are that lead to heart failure, which may help us prevent this devastating outcome.
We will use this research as platform to further understand and improve the health of individuals who have survived a stroke. This is vital as more and more people are living with stroke each year due to our ability to successfully treat strokes.