Many young adults who suffer bleeding in the brain, a type of Stroke, have risk factors that could be modified, researchers report. This suggests that these strokes might often be preventable.

Dr. Edward Feldmann, of Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues examined risk factors for bleeding strokes using data from the Hemorrhagic stroke Project.

Their analysis, reported in the American Heart Associations journal Stroke, compared 217 patients with brain bleeds between 18 and 49 years old recruited from 44 hospitals in the United States, with a “control” group of 419 similar but unaffected individuals.

The team found that risk factors for bleeding stroke included High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Menopause, and current cigarette smoking. More than two alcoholic drinks per day, more than five caffeinated drinks per day, and caffeine in drugs were also associated with the risk of bleeding in the brain.

The findings should encourage doctors to identify and treat “hypertension, smoking, and heavy alcohol use,” Feldmann’s team says.

The association with “menopause and caffeine consumption deserves further investigation,” they add.

SOURCE: Stroke, September 2005.