Infection is a stronger trigger of stroke death in African-Americans than in Whites, a University of Michigan study demonstrates. Dr. Kenneth Langa, professor of health management and policy, collaborated on this project, which is published in Neurology. The study found that patients exposed to infection in the month before their stroke were more likely to die of a stroke when compared to other time periods. Specifically, African-Americans were 39 times more likely to die of a stroke if exposed to an infection while Whites were four times more likely.