United States: People who are carriers of Down syndrome are at much greater risk of stroke than those who do not carry the genetic disorder, a new study states.
Down syndrome patients risk getting a stroke caused by a brain bleed 5.14 times more, and over 4 times more, if the stroke results from a blood clot, October 7 researchers reported in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Other researchers found that the younger the Down syndrome patient, the higher the risk of a heart attack.
According to the lead researcher Annie Pedersen of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, “Our results show that individuals with Down syndrome are at increased risk of some age-related cardiovascular outcomes, and indicate, in line with results from previous studies, that their cardiovascular risk factor profile differs from the general population,” US News reported.
Patients with Down syndrome have one more copy of chromosome number 21, and this alters the way the body and brain develop, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states.
Heart Attack Risk Increases in Younger Patients
Over the last few decades, the life expectancy for individuals with this problem has increased dramatically, from an average of 25 years during the first part of the 1980s to 60 years in 2020, researchers noted in background text.
Study reveals 5x higher stroke risk for Down syndrome patients, highlighting need for vigilant health monitoring. https://t.co/Lfz6m4JFCu
— HealthDay News (@HealthDayTweets) May 8, 2025
It should be noted that with age, there is a higher risk of the occurrence of heart-related health problems.
Genetic and Lifestyle Factors
Scientists pondered whether the genetic discrepancies associated with Down syndrome might mean different risks for such patients as they age.
The researchers monitored just under 5,200 people with Down syndrome born in Sweden between 1946 and 2000 and compared their risk of stroke and heart attacks with that of the rest of the general population of Sweden.
As the results portrayed, the higher risk of stroke “could have future implications for the surveillance and treatment of individuals with Down syndrome,” as per Pedersen.
Although the increased risk of blood-clot-related stroke may be due to the presence of congenital heart disease or diabetes, rather than clogged arteries, as the researchers noted, one may consider the option that there are no arteries, as US News reported.
Similarly, according to the researchers, it is possible that obesity, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle conditions may also be causing brain-bleed strokes amongst Down syndrome patients.