SAN ANTONIO (Reuters Health) - A startle reaction, such as a little jump in reaction to a sudden loud noise, may be enough to bring on a stroke in people at risk, Israeli researchers told attendees of the American Stroke Association's 27th International Stroke Conference here Friday night.

A team at Tel Aviv University looked for events that may have triggered stroke in 150 patients admitted to their institution with acute stroke. Dr. Natan M. Bornstein explained that his team examined the events in the 2 hours preceding stroke onset and compared them to events occurring in the same 2-hour period the day previous to the stroke.

Nearly half of the patients had high blood pressure, while almost 30% had type 2 diabetes.

Bornstein said that "22% of the stroke patients were exposed to a sudden change in body position" in the 2 hours prior to stroke onset. In 13% of stroke patients, he added, a "negative emotion," such as anger, depression, anxiety and fear preceded the stroke. Having an infection during the previous week also was associated with having a stroke, he said.

A sudden change in body position, described by Bornstein as a startle response, increased the risk of stroke sevenfold, he told Reuters Health.

The position change might trigger the release of catecholamine, suggested Bornstein, a substance that can have a strong effect on cardiovascular and nervous system function. This could in turn lead to platelets clumping together and blood vessel narrowing, which could result in a change in blood flow to the brain, he said, thus potentially causing a stroke.

The Israeli researchers are continuing their study, planning to eventually enroll as many as 400 patients.

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