Sudden hearing loss a harbinger of stroke

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A sudden loss of hearing can be an early warning of impending stroke, according to results of a study released Thursday.
Dr. Herng-Ching Lin and colleagues at Taipei Medical University identified 1423 adult patients hospitalized in 1998 with a first episode of sudden hearing loss and matched each "case" patient to four "control" patients.

Patients in the hearing loss group were significantly more likely to have hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and elevated cholesterol levels, the investigators note.
Over the next 5 years, 180 hearing-loss patients (13 percent) and 441 control patients (8 percent) suffered a stroke. After adjusting for gender, income, level of urbanization, and comorbid illnesses, the risk of stroke was 1.64 times greater in the hearing-loss patients.

Among patients with hearing loss, 12 percent of strokes occurred within 3 months, 31 percent occurred in the first year, and 51 percent by the end of the second year.

The study, which will appear in the October issue of the medical journal Stroke, was posted online on June 26.

Lin and associates recommend that people who experience a sudden loss of hearing, particularly those with other vascular conditions or elderly patients, schedule a comprehensive check-up with their doctor.

Because half of the strokes did not occur until after 2 years, they further advise routine follow-up examinations for several years after the first episode of hearing loss.

转自  qiuyuming

突发性耳聋是中风的前兆 

纽约(路透社健康版)-根据周四公布的一项研究结果，听力的突发性耳聋可能是中风的早期预警。  

台北医科大学的林恒庆博士和他的同事确定了1423名1998年住院的首次突发性耳聋的成年患者，并将每个“病例”患者与四个“对照”患者进行配对。  

研究人员指出，听力损失组的患者明显更有可能患有高血压、糖尿病和胆固醇水平升高。  

在接下来的5年里，180名听力丧失患者(13%)和441名正常患者(8%)遭受了中风。 在调整性别、收入、城市化水平和共病后，听力损失患者的中风风险是正常人的1.64倍。  

在听力丧失的患者中，12%的中风发生在3个月内，31%发生在第一年，51%发生在第二年年底。  

这项研究将发表在医学杂志《中风》10月刊上，并于6月26日在网上公布。  

林教授和他的同事建议那些突发性耳聋的人，特别是那些患有其他血管疾病的人或老年患者，需要进行全面的检查。  

因为一半的中风是在两年后才发生的，他们进一步建议在第一次听力丧失之后的几年里进行常规随访检查。