(Newswire.net — April 28, 2019) — A stroke can be a life-threatening event caused by a lack of oxygenated blood to a person’s brain. The cells in a person’s brain begin to die. The length of time a patient goes without treatment as well as the severity of the episode determine the amount of destruction a stroke causes. Those who survive a stroke could wind up paralyzed. A person’s risk of broken bones and osteoporosis often increases after a stroke, but doctors aren’t taking enough preventative measurements or providing screenings frequently enough.
About Bone-Related Problems After a Stroke
A person who suffers from a stroke is more likely to have a stroke in the future. The person is at a greater risk for heart disease due to certain underlying causes of a stroke. It’s also possible for a man to suffer from erectile dysfunction after a stroke. The risk for bone-related problems is four times greater in people who’ve had a stroke when compared to someone who has never had a stroke in the past. In many cases, a stroke survivor has a reduction in his or her mobility. Having limited mobility decreases a person’s bone density, which puts the individual at a higher risk for broken bones.
Treatments may help reduce a person’s risk of having a stroke in the future. However, only a small number of people receive treatment for their osteoporosis depsite the fact that the wealth of drug medication information online.. Sadly, less than one-third of older women in the U.S. receive a screening for osteoporosis. Not to mention, the treatment rate for high-risk patients is around the same.
The percentage of individuals who had testing done for osteoporosis was low in people who recently had a stroke. One study conducted on stroke survivors 65 or older who went to the ER or who were hospitalized for a stroke consisted of 16,581 people. Of those patients, only 5.1 percent received bone density testing. Only 15.5 percent were given a medication for osteoporosis within the first year after their stroke. The study showed that certain people were more likely to have bone density testing than others. In particular, younger females were tested more than any others.
It’s surprising that doctors aren’t recognizing the need for better screening. It could benefit a man or a woman tremendously. In addition, it could prevent complications in the future.