Research studies that seek to better treat and prevent stroke
Published: 18 Sep 2019
Singapore has one of the world’s highest rates of stroke – with over 7,000 stroke cases recorded in 2016 according to the Singapore Stroke Registry Annual Report 2016. However, timely recognition of stroke symptoms and improved treatment in recent years have possibly led to few deaths from stroke.
Associate Professor Raymond Seet from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine and Senior Consultant in the National University Hospital (NUH)’s Division of Neurology, is involved in three NUH studies that aim to better prevent and treat stroke.
The first study will have patients fitted with a wearable device that can detect the difference in heart contraction between patients with atrial fibrillation and those without. Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that leads to an irregular and rapid heart rate, and poor contraction of the heart muscles, resulting in blood clots forming in heart chambers.
Researchers chose to look at patients with atrial fibrillation as such patients are five time more likely to get a stroke than those without the condition.
By identifying patients at high risk of developing a stroke, blood thinning medications can then be given to the right patients.
“By leveraging smart technology, we wish to refine and rethink the way we select high-risk patients in the community, to enable them to track their risk of stroke and to empower them to take proactive steps to prevent stroke.” – Assoc Prof Seet
The wearable device will detect electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and the amount of blood that flows into the brain. By studying such signals, researchers can identify ECG and blood-flow patterns associated with stroke risk among individuals with atrial fibrillation.
This study will start in the first quarter of 2020 and will recruit 1,000 patients who are older than 60 to check if they have atrial fibrillation.
Besides this study, Assoc Prof Seet is also involved in two other NUH studies to better treat stroke and prevent a second stroke.
One of the studies involves using a blood test to identify patients most suitable for early stroke treatment, such as thrombolysis – the dissolution of blood clots using drugs – and clot retrieval. The other study involves using a blood test to identify stroke patients who have a higher likelihood of cardiovascular recurrence, which includes stroke, myocardial infarction and death from a vascular cause.
Together with his team of researchers, Assoc Prof Seet is now working on ways to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from a more personalised treatment.
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