Don’t accuse molecular diagnostics startup Ischemia Care of thinking small. The Oxford, Ohio-based company that was founded three years ago is hoping to be the first company to market with a blood test to diagnose the cause of stroke, the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States. And it’s hoping to do that within two years.

The fast track can, over time, take its toll. New research in women finds a high-stress, demanding job with little or no growth potential can raise the risk of heart problems — including heart attack or stroke, or even early death — by 40 percent.

The most promising application of Athersys Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ATHX) stem cell technology lies in treating stroke victims, according to a Morningstar Inc. analyst. “It’s really market potential that leads us to believe that stroke is the most promising indication,” said Lauren Migliore.

A recently introduced Ohio House bill aims to improve the care of stroke patients in the state, in part by publicly designating hospitals that have demonstrated excellence in caring for stroke victims.The proposed law would create the designation of “primary stroke centers” to help the public know which hospitals have been certified as providing high-quality [...]

Invacare Corp.‘s high-profile chairman and CEO A. Malachi Mixon III — known to most people simply as Mal — plans to return to his chairman’s seat by the end of July.The hard-living entrepreneur who threw in his life’s savings of $10,000 to lead the buyout of the home healthcare equipment and supply maker in 1979 [...]

A. Malachi Mixon III, chairman and chief executive of Invacare Corp. (NYSE: IVC), has suffered a mild stroke and is taking a medical leave to recover, the company said early Friday.Gerald B. Blouch, president and chief operating officer for the Elyria, Ohio, company that makes home health care equipment and supplies, will take over as [...]

Executives of biopharmaceutical company Athersys Inc. seem more confident than ever that their stem cell therapy MultiStem could eventually be used to profoundly help patients recover from heart attack, stroke or leukemia.In a conference call with securities analysts late Thursday afternoon, the executives also disclosed promising research on drug candidates to treat obesity and attention-related [...]

The company will use the grant to further its development of a drug that reduces brain swelling in stroke victims.

The University of Cincinnati will use a $3.6 million grant, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, to research how thinking about physical acts can help stroke patients. A $1.57 million grant will fund ongoing research at Case Western Reserve University to develop a treatment for the eye infection bacterial keratitis.

CoAxia thinks its NeuroFlo technology could be part of basic care for 500,000 ischemic stroke patients, breaking into a market worth more than $1 billion. Instead of attacking the brain clot, its catheter diverts blood flow from the lower parts of the body and pushes it into the brain to increase blood flow.