According to a study that was published in Neurology, stroke survivors with AF may be more likely to develop dementia than those patients with AF who have not survived a stroke.

Patients with AF make up as much as 15 percent of the stroke sufferer population. Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes patients to experience irregular heartbeats and flutters, and is well-known to cause strokes. That is why most patients are treated with anticoagulant medications like Multaq that are meant to help prevent strokes. However, Multaq is viewed by the medical community and the FDA as an extremely dangerous medication because the side effects reported with Multaq use are potentially life-threatening. Multaq causes some patients to suffer from liver failure, worsening of the heart condition, lung disease and pulmonary toxicity. This is why it is extremely important for researchers to continue to find safer AF medications that prevent strokes as well as possibly help prevent other conditions that arise after strokes, such as dementia.

With researchers linking strokes to dementia, it is even more important for scientists to develop newer and safer drugs. For this new study, researchers compared study results of AF patients who had had stokes with stroke victims that don’t have AF in an effort to figure out who eventually developed dementia. What they found was that stroke survivors with AF were 2.4 times more likely to end up with dementia than those stroke survivors who didn’t have AF.

“These results may help us identify potential treatments that could help delay or even prevent the onset of dementia,” said study author Phyo Kyaw Myint, MD, of the University of East Anglia in Norfolk, U.K. “Options could include more rigorous management of cardiovascular risk factors or of atrial fibrillation, particularly in stroke patients.”

If you or a loved one has suffered from liver failure, a worsening of the heart condition, lung disease or pulmonary toxicity after taking Multaq, contact attorney Greg Jones for a free consultation today. I am experienced at fighting Multaq lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your injuries.