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Partnerships for Native Health Washington State University

Reducing the Risk of Stroke in American Indians

American Indians are more likely to suffer a stroke than members of any other racial or ethnic group in the US. They also tend to have strokes earlier in life than non-Hispanic Whites. In fact, American Indians younger than 65 are three times more likely to die of stroke than Whites of similar age. Given these statistics, an ongoing study by researchers with Partnerships for Native Health seeks to define the risk factors for stroke in American Indians.

So far, this research has resulted in two scientific publications in Neuroepidemiology. Both are led by Dr. Astrid Suchy-Dicey, an Assistant Research Professor at Washington State University. More publications will follow in the near future. Once all analyses are complete, the next step will be to design interventions that can reduce or eliminate disparities in stroke for Native people.
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The Strong Heart Stroke Study

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The Strong Heart Stroke Study 

In 1988, NHLBI funded the Strong Heart Study: the largest epidemiologic study of American Indians ever undertaken. Its goal was to examine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in American Indians. This research continues today with studies of the families of the original participants. A recent analysis estimated that the overall incidence of stroke in American Indians is more than double that of the general U.S. population. This finding indicates that cerebrovascular disease, a precursor of stroke, is a public health problem of staggering significance for American Indians. We propose to build on the work of the original Strong Heart Study, which has already collected substantial data relevant to cerebrovascular disease, by conducting the Strong Heart Stroke Study. Our work takes advantage of an important and timely opportunity to study cerebrovascular disease and stroke, with the goal of learning how to prevent and treat these conditions in American Indians. No previous research has specifically addressed these concerns.

Visit the SHSS Publications & Presentations Committee website to learn about our proposal review process, see our index of approved manuscripts, and access additional resources.

We invite you to view the presentation slides from our two-day SHSS Close-Out meeting held in October 2013 in Seattle. Members traveled from sites in Arizona, Oklahoma, and South Dakota to join in collaboration.

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