A friend had a mild stroke but was not found for several hours. The hospital did not do a brain scan. Her friends, given the symptoms, were furious (one was a nurse). As inevitably happens, she had a more serious one within months (age 40 something). She was paralysed on one side and hospitalised for several months. But she carried on smoking - even in hospital. With my SO at the time (a smoker) we visited and went to the hospital shop as requested, and (I was told later) SO took back a pack of cigarettes.

It amazed me that a) people are not aware of the contribution nicotine & b) that hospitals shops sell tobacco (albeit out of reach of stroke patients). In the nicest possible way I used to remonstrate with the friend but such was the relationship with SO that I could not say more than the fact that I disapproved of SO's actions.

The friend teamed-up with a stroke victim who took her away from all her friends. She died within 5 years. She had a pretty sad life for many other reasons. Some invovling family history of anuerisms.

My worry is that my own mother had an anuerism that was diagnosed and burst the night before the op. She was in a coma for 4 months before she slipped away. Am I genetically at risk?