Brain injury doesn't heal like a broken bone.
Casi una década después de haber sido estranguladas, muchas mujeres siguen cargando en su sistema nervioso las huellas de una violencia que no deja marcas visibles. Un estudio de Mass General Brigham, publicado en el Journal of Neurotrauma, documenta lo que las sobrevivientes han sabido siempre: el estrangulamiento en la violencia de pareja causa daño cerebral duradero. La ciencia pone ahora nombre y cifras a un sufrimiento que los sistemas de salud y justicia han ignorado durante demasiado tiempo.
- El 64% de las 139 mujeres estudiadas había sido estrangulada por su pareja, y los efectos neurológicos —visión borrosa, mareos, dificultad para concentrarse— persistían casi nueve años después del último episodio.
- El estrangulamiento interrumpe el oxígeno y la circulación sanguínea hacia el cerebro en segundos, pero rara vez deja marcas externas, lo que lo convierte en una de las formas más invisibles y subregistradas de violencia de pareja.
- El 30% de las participantes perdió parcialmente la conciencia durante los ataques y el 15% la perdió por completo, umbrales que los investigadores identificaron como indicadores de lesión cerebral adquirida.
- Las mujeres que sufrieron alteraciones visuales durante el estrangulamiento presentaron los mayores problemas de visión años después; las que perdieron la conciencia mostraron síntomas de estrés traumático significativamente más pronunciados.
- La investigadora Eve Valera llama a la acción: se necesitan mejores protocolos de detección médica, mayor reporte de casos y intervenciones sociales que reconozcan el daño neurológico como consecuencia real y medible de esta violencia.
Casi nueve años después del último ataque, una mujer puede seguir viendo el mundo de forma distinta: la visión se nubla, el equilibrio falla, concentrarse se vuelve una batalla silenciosa. Son las secuelas invisibles del estrangulamiento, una forma de violencia de pareja tan frecuente como ignorada por la medicina.
Un nuevo estudio publicado en el Journal of Neurotrauma por investigadores de Mass General Brigham siguió a 139 mujeres que respondieron preguntas detalladas sobre síntomas neurológicos —mareos, problemas de visión, dificultades auditivas, ansiedad, trauma— un promedio de 8,7 años después de su último episodio de estrangulamiento. Los resultados son contundentes: el 64% reportó haber sido estrangulada por su pareja. El 30% experimentó alteraciones de conciencia durante los ataques; el 15% la perdió por completo. Ambos umbrales fueron clasificados como indicadores de lesión cerebral adquirida.
El análisis reveló un patrón claro: las mujeres estranguladas reportaron significativamente más problemas de visión y síntomas de estrés traumático que quienes no lo habían sido. Cuanto más grave fue la pérdida de conciencia durante el ataque, más pronunciadas resultaron las secuelas a largo plazo. El mecanismo es brutal en su simplicidad: comprimir el cuello interrumpe el oxígeno y la circulación cerebral en segundos, causando daño real aunque no deje ninguna marca visible.
Esa invisibilidad es precisamente el problema. Sin huellas externas, el estrangulamiento rara vez se denuncia, raramente se procesa judicialmente y casi nunca recibe atención médica adecuada. La investigadora principal Eve Valera fue directa: hay que mejorar el reporte, movilizar intervenciones sociales y garantizar atención oportuna a las mujeres afectadas. El estudio demuestra que el daño es real, medible y duradero. La pregunta que queda abierta es si los sistemas que rodean a estas mujeres estarán finalmente dispuestos a tratarlo como tal.
Nearly nine years after the last time her partner's hands closed around her neck, a woman might still see the world differently. Her vision might blur. She might feel dizzy for no reason. Concentrating at work becomes harder than it should be. These are not the injuries you can see in a mirror. They are the invisible aftermath of strangulation—a form of intimate partner violence so common that it leaves almost no trace, yet so damaging that its effects ripple through the nervous system for years.
A new study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, conducted by researchers at Mass General Brigham and funded by federal resources, has documented what survivors have long known but medicine has largely overlooked: strangulation during intimate partner violence causes lasting brain damage. The research tracked 139 women, predominantly white, recruited through flyers, online advertisements, and social media. Between July 2020 and February 2023, these women answered detailed questions about their neurological symptoms—dizziness, vision problems, hearing difficulties, trouble concentrating, anxiety, depression, and trauma responses. On average, the last time they had been strangled was 8.7 years before they were interviewed.
The findings are stark. Sixty-four percent of the women in the study reported a history of strangulation within an intimate relationship. Thirty percent said they had experienced alterations in consciousness during these attacks—seeing flashes of light or tunnel vision. Fifteen percent lost consciousness entirely. These last two categories, the researchers determined, indicated acquired brain injury. When the data was analyzed, a pattern emerged: women who had been strangled reported significantly more vision problems and trauma symptoms than those who had not. The more severe the consciousness disruption during the attack, the more pronounced the long-term effects. Women who lost consciousness showed a marked increase in traumatic stress symptoms. Those who experienced visual disturbances during strangulation showed the greatest vision problems afterward.
What makes strangulation particularly dangerous is its mechanism. When hands or ligatures compress the neck, they interrupt both the flow of oxygen to the brain and blood circulation. The brain, starved of oxygen even briefly, sustains injury. Yet because strangulation often leaves no visible marks—no bruises, no lacerations—it remains one of the most underreported forms of intimate partner violence. A woman might not realize she has sustained a brain injury. Her partner might not be prosecuted. The medical system might never know it happened.
Eve Valera, the study's corresponding author and a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham, emphasized the stakes. "This study highlights the possible long-term consequences of strangulation related to intimate partner violence and underscores the importance of preventing this violence and providing treatment to women who need it," she said. The research team—including Grant L. Iverson, Maria C. Xu, and Aylin Tanriverdi—stressed that understanding the connection between strangulation and brain injury is not merely an academic matter. It is urgent. Roughly one in three women worldwide experiences intimate partner violence in her lifetime. For many of them, strangulation is part of that experience.
The neurological symptoms documented in this study—the dizziness, the vision problems, the difficulty concentrating—are not temporary side effects that fade with time. They persist. They shape daily life. They are profound, yet they remain largely invisible to the social and health systems meant to help. Valera called for action: strangulation is underreported, she said, and more must be done to encourage reporting, to mobilize social interventions, and to ensure that women who have experienced this violence receive timely medical care. The study suggests that the damage is real, measurable, and lasting. What remains to be seen is whether the systems that surround these women will finally begin to treat it as such.
Notable Quotes
This study highlights the possible long-term consequences of strangulation related to intimate partner violence and underscores the importance of preventing this violence and providing treatment to women who need it.— Eve Valera, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Mass General Brigham
Strangulation is underreported, and more must be done to encourage reporting, mobilize social interventions, and ensure that women who have experienced this violence receive timely medical care.— Eve Valera, PhD
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does strangulation cause brain damage when other forms of violence might not?
When someone's hands close around your neck, they're cutting off two critical supplies at once—oxygen and blood flow to the brain. Even a brief interruption can injure brain tissue. The damage isn't always obvious because there might be no external marks, which is part of why it's so underreported.
The study mentions women experiencing symptoms nearly a decade later. Why would the effects last so long?
Brain injury doesn't heal like a broken bone. The neurological damage—the disrupted connections, the injured tissue—can be permanent. Vision problems, concentration difficulties, trauma responses: these aren't psychological aftereffects alone. They're rooted in how the brain itself was altered.
The study classified women into three groups based on consciousness changes. Why does that distinction matter?
It tells us how severe the oxygen deprivation was. If you just lost some blood flow, you might have mild symptoms. If you saw tunnel vision or lost consciousness, your brain was starved of oxygen long enough to cause measurable injury. The worse the consciousness disruption, the worse the long-term damage tends to be.
What surprised you most about the findings?
That the symptoms persisted so consistently after so many years. These weren't women in acute crisis. They were years removed from the violence, yet their brains still bore the marks. Vision problems, dizziness, trouble concentrating—these are daily reminders of something that happened nearly a decade ago.
The article mentions strangulation is underreported. Why would someone not report it?
Because it leaves no visible injury. A woman might not even realize she's been seriously hurt. Her partner might convince her it wasn't that bad. And if there are no bruises, no obvious proof, she might worry no one will believe her or that the system won't take it seriously.
What does this research suggest should happen next?
The researchers are clear: prevention, reporting, and treatment. But that requires systems that actually recognize strangulation as the serious brain injury it is. Right now, it's largely invisible to medicine and law enforcement. That invisibility is part of the problem.