Study: Stroke risk for black smokers

Black Americans who smoke are 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke then those who never smoked, according to a newly published study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

However, former smokers show a low risk, on a par with people who never smoked, a news release about the report said.

The study looked into specific results for 4,410 black patients, who already are at higher risk of stroke than whites. It found a strong link between smoking and stroke risk, and analyzed other factors such as heart disease and inflammation.

The risks could be connected to buildup of plaque in large blood vessels in the brains of black individuals who have a history of smoking, researchers wrote.

Results from the study will appear online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.