People who are highly educated and who complain about lapses in their memory may have an increased risk of stroke, a new study suggests.

According to Dutch researchers, it is already known that stroke can cause memory problems, but they wanted to investigate whether the reverse was true - that memory problems can increase the risk of a stroke.

They looked at over 9,000 people aged 55 or older, who had been taking part in an ongoing study since 1990. By 2012, over 1,100 strokes had occurred.

The study found that memory problems were linked to a higher risk of stroke. Furthermore, among those with memory problems, the risk of a stroke was almost 40% higher if the person had a higher level of education.

For the purpose of the study, low education was considered primary school education only, intermediate education was considered primary education along with some more education, such as secondary school or lower vocational education. Higher education meanwhile involved higher vocational or university education.

"We found that the association of memory complaints with stroke was strongest among people with the highest education. If in future research we can confirm this, then I would like to assess whether people who complain about changes in their memory should be considered primary targets for further risk assessment and prevention of stroke," commented Dr Arfan Ikram of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

The researchers added that the results were the same in both men and women.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Stroke.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, depriving it of oxygen. As a result, some of the brain cells die and others are damaged. The majority of strokes are known as ischaemic. These are caused by a sudden blockage in the blood vessels supplying the brain, by a blood clot.

Every year, some 10,000 people in Ireland suffer a stroke and 2,000 people die as a result. Thousands more are left with stroke-related disabilities.