Forgetting why you have gone into a room or misplacing your keys is frustrating, but new research suggests that these lapses in memory could signal more than just absent-mindedness. A new study has found that highly educated people with memory complaints could have an increased risk for stroke.

Share on Pinterest Previous research found an association between memory complaints and Alzheimer’s disease among the highly educated.

The study, published in Stroke, followed a cohort of participants who had completed questionnaires and undergone mental examination, looking for signs of incident stroke.

“Studies have shown how stroke causes memory complaints,” says co-author Dr. Arfan Ikram of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. “Given the shared underlying vascular pathology, we posed the reverse question: ‘Do memory complaints indicate an increased risk of strokes?'”

Strokes are caused by the blocking of blood vessels to the brain by clots (ischemic stroke) or a blood vessel bursting (hemorrhagic stroke). Preventing blood vessels transporting oxygen and nutrients to the brain, strokes cause damage to the organ and kill brain cells.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), strokes are the cause of almost 130,000 American deaths each year – 1 in every 19 deaths. Every year, more than 795,000 people in the US have strokes, at an estimated cost to the country of $36.5 billion.

It is important that stroke treatment begins as soon as possible, as it greatly increases the chances of survival. Research into potential risk factors for stroke will no doubt improve the odds of stroke patients being treated quickly and efficiently.