Seniors who have had a stroke sometimes do not report the event to their doctors, especially when they also suffer from other ailments, according to the results of a new study.

Of the 717 seniors surveyed in this report, 85 indicated they had had a stroke. Follow-up MRI scans, however, indicated that 225 of the seniors had evidence of a stroke. False-negative reports were highest among seniors who also presented signs of high blood pressure, heart attack and cognitive impairment.

When conducting stroke research, it may be more effective to rely more on brain imaging than self-reporting, study authors suggest. The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical School in New York, and will appear in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology.