Stroke patients with low cholesterol have an 87% increased risk of death

This study was published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases 2013 Oct 5. pii: S1052-3057(13)00338-8

Study title and authors:
High Cholesterol Levels Are Associated with Improved Long-term Survival after Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Markaki I, Nilsson U, Kostulas K, Sjöstrand C.
Department of Neurology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: ioanna.markaki@ki.se.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24103674

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cholesterol levels on death rates in patients that had suffered an ischemic stroke. (Ischemic stroke occurs when an artery to the brain is blocked). The study lasted for seven years and included 190 patients. Patients were classified as having high cholesterol, above 4.6 mmol/L (178 mg/dL), or low cholesterol, below 4.6 mmol/L (178 mg/dL).

The study found that ischemic stroke patients with low cholesterol had an 87% increased risk of death compared to ischemic stroke patients with high cholesterol.