- Ischemic stroke is a predictor of future cognitive health. We know that from the studies that have looked at the relationship between the neuropathological findings in the past of what's called vascular dementia, silent findings of stroke on MRI, and also clinical stroke and consequent risk of dementia. In this particular study, they actually were able to look beyond just a simple association between the stroke and dementia, but between the severity of stroke and also the number of strokes that lead to dementia, and that's the particular strength of this investigation.