University of Edinburgh

British Heart Foundation

DL_2022_058

This project is studying people with bleeding on the brain, also called intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). We know some of the things that put people at risk of ICH, such as high blood pressure. However, high blood pressure is common, but only a few people have brain bleeds. We don’t know why some people are affected and not others. DataLoch contains detailed information on people’s health conditions throughout their life. Using data from people who have had ICH and people who haven’t, we aim to find out more about the differences between these two groups. This will teach us more about the underlying cause of ICH, and allow us to target prevention better in future.

Stroke was the second-leading cause of death worldwide in 2019, when stroke due to ICH constituted 28% of all incident strokes and 48% of disability-adjusted life years due to stroke. ICH can be devastating for patients and their families. We need to better understand the underlying causes and risk factors for ICH, to enable better prevention and treatment of this disease. In Scotland, ~1,150 people suffer ICH each year, half of whom die within one year, leaving ~7,100 ICH survivors. The Research to Understand Stroke due to Haemorrhage (RUSH) Patient Reference Group (PRG) oversaw the LATCH audit. ICH survivors suffer significant morbidity and mortality; understanding the causes of ICH will ultimately allow targeted primary prevention and reduce the impact of this disease, and the burden on NHS and social care services.

Public Health Research

15/03/2024

De-Personalised

TRE