New scan developed to predict stroke risk

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new type of MRI scan to predict the risk of having a stroke, thanks to funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The non-invasive technique, described in a paper published in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging , produces a quantitative result that can accurately indicate whether plaques in the carotid arteries - those that supply the brain with blood - are rich in cholesterol, and therefore more likely to cause a stroke. The rupture of fatty plaques can block the arteries and cause potentially debilitating and life-threatening strokes as the brain is starved of oxygen. There are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year, around a quarter of which are caused by carotid plaques. Latest figures show that stroke now costs the UK healthcare system an estimated £2 billion every year. It is estimated that stroke costs the UK as much as £9 billion a year as a society. At present, the risk of stroke is measured by the size of the plaque in the carotid artery.