All smokers at risk for certain type of stroke

People who smoke even occasionally are more likely than nonsmokers to have a serious type of stroke caused by a ruptured blood vessel, according to research published in the journal Stroke.

The type of stroke examined by the researchers, known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage, occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the space between a person’s brain and skull. Most often, this results from an aneurysm, an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel.

A subarachnoid hemorrhage is not as common as an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot, but it also can lead to neurological problems or be life-threatening without immediate treatment to stop the bleeding. To focus on the effect that smoking may have on people’s risk for this type of stroke, the researchers analyzed data on 408,609 adults, about a third of whom smoked regularly.

27%

Percentage increase in the likelihood that smokers will have a stroke caused by a ruptured blood vessel if they smoke up to 20 packs a year.

255

Number of packs of cigarettes per year that the average American smoker consumes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is 14 cigarettes per day.

904

Number of study participants who had a subarachnoid hemorrhage during the study period. The more people smoked, the greater their risk for this type of stroke, prompting the American Stroke Association to note that the findings “provide evidence for a causal link” between smoking and subarachnoid hemorrhage.