NHW readers know that children can safely operate a defibrillator in case of a heart emergency. Now, a new study suggests that young people can help save lives when stroke strikes, too.

Patients of any age may benefit from clot-buster therapy for stroke, according to Swiss researchers. In a recent study, doctors say that stroke severity, blood sugar levels, and time until treatment--but not age--predicted the rate of favorable outcome among 325 patients treated with tPA (tissue plasminogen activator).

Innovative research programs are testing whether an experimental device can help stroke survivors recover essential skills such as speech (the Chestnut study) and hand and arm movement (the Everest trial).

If your waist is wider than your hips, you are more at risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Minutes count when stroke occurs. Now, advances in computer technology are helping expedite the delivery of clot-busting drugs to treat stroke patients in rural areas of Georgia.

Today, stroke care is provided in much the same way as trauma care was in the mid-1970s. About that time, surgeons realized that not all hospitals were equipped to treat victims of car crashes and other major accidents.

Dental x-rays may be a new tool in predicting stroke risk, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles say that panoramic or wide-angle radiography can detect calcifications within neck arteries which, left untreated, can block blood flow from the heart to the brain and precipitate a stroke.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: Over the past several years, I have had three ministrokes. I just recently had a test to find out how much blockage there was in my carotid artery. There was 70 percent blockage, and my doctor told me that if there is no improvement, I will have to have surgery.