Researchers discovered that gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding after stroke either leads to death or makes person dependent on others for his/her day to day needs.

The researchers analyzed the data collected from the observation of the 6,800 men and women admitted to 11 Ontario hospitals between 2003 and 2006.These people were admitted after an acute ischemic stroke. Out of these, 100 had gastrointestinal bleeding during their recovery period. . Out of these people, 829 died during their hospital stay.1, 374 died within six months after the stroke.

Ischemic stroke is the result of slowdown or blockage of blood to the brain. It is the most common type of stroke. Researchers analyzed all the possible factors that could lead to death of these patients. The study showed that GI bleeding increases the number of deaths after stroke by three times. Researchers added that GI bleeding increases the chances of death within six months after the stroke by 1.5 times.

Dr. Martin O'Donnell, an associate professor in the department of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said: "We found that the actual incidence of gastrointestinal [GI] bleeding would make it an uncommon complication.” He added that complications created by GI bleeding can be associated with increased death and disability.

O'Donnell and his research team are working on the factors the increase the chances of GI bleeding. Researchers said that this finding can save many lives. Researchers added that there are effective medications to reduce gastric acid that can lead to upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Some medical experts don’t agree to the finding of the present research. They claim that all stroke patients are treated with preventive prophylactic therapy to prevent GI bleeding. They assure that GI bleeding is not a regular phenomenon in stroke patients. Some medical experts believe that the claim of researchers that GI bleeding increase chances of death is not true.