Randomised trial of a perindopril-based blood-pressure-lowering regimen among 6105 individuals with previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack

Summary This overview of population-based studies of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and case-fatality of stroke was based on studies from 1990. Incidence (first stroke in an individual's lifetime) and prevalence were computed by age, sex, and stroke type. Age-standardised incidence and prevalence with the corresponding 95% CI were plotted for each study to facilitate comparisons. The review shows that the burden of stroke is high and is likely to increase in future decades as a result of demographic and epidemiological transitions in populations. The main features of stroke epidemiology include modest geographical variation in incidence, prevalence, and case-fatality among the—predominantly white—populations studied so far, and a stabilisation or reversal in the declining secular trends in the pre-1990s rates, especially in older people. However, further research that uses the best possible methods to study the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of stroke are urgently needed in other populations of the world, especially in less developed countries where the risk of stroke is high, lifestyles are changing rapidly, and population restructuring is occurring.

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laneur/PIIS1474442203002667.pdf

Stroke epidemiology: a review of population-based studies of incidence, prevalence, and case-fatality in the late 20th century.

We present epidemiologic, etiologic, and clinical data for 1,000 consecutive patients with a first stroke (cerebral infarction or hemorrhage) admitted to the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois since 1982. The patients were evaluated using a standard protocol of tests (computed tomography, Doppler ultrasonography, and electrocardiography in all patients, as well as angiography and specific cardiac investigations in selected patients). Each case was coded prospectively into a computerized registry. We believe that the Lausanne Stroke Registry is the first registry with complete computed tomography and Doppler ultrasonography data on all patients, which allows correlation between clinical findings, presumed etiology, and stroke location. Although the Lausanne Stroke Registry is not population-based, it gives a good estimate of the stroke-related problems in patients admitted to a primary-care center since our hospital is the sole acute-care facility for stroke in the Lausanne area.

The Lausanne Stroke Registry: analysis of 1,000 consecutive patients with first stroke.

Background and Purpose— Data on risk factors for etiologic subtypes of ischemic stroke are still scant. The aim of this study was to characterize stroke subtypes regarding risk factor profile, outcome, and current treatment strategies. Methods— We analyzed data from 5017 patients with acute ischemic stroke (42.4% women, aged 65.9±14.1 years) who were enrolled in a large multicenter hospital–based stroke data bank. Standardized data assessment and stroke subtype classification were used by all centers. Results— Sex and age distribution, major risk factors and comorbidities, recurrent stroke, treatment strategies, and outcome were all unevenly distributed among stroke subtypes (P 70 years) and associated with an adverse outcome, a low rate of early stroke recurrence, and frequent use of thrombolytic therapy and intravenous anticoagulation. Large-artery atherosclerosis (20.9...

Risk Factors, Outcome, and Treatment in Subtypes of Ischemic Stroke The German Stroke Data Bank

Stroke mortality is reported to be greater in blacks than in whites, but stroke incidence data for blacks and Hispanics are sparse. The aim of this study was to determine and compare stroke incidence rates among whites, blacks, and Hispanics living in the same urban community. A population-based incidence study was conducted to identify all cases of first stroke occurring in northern Manhattan, New York City, between July 1, 1993, and June 30, 1996. The population of this area was approximately 210,000 at that time, based on 1990 US Census data. Surveillance for hospitalized and nonhospitalized stroke consisted of daily screening of all admissions, discharges, and computed tomography logs at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, the only hospital in the region, and review of discharge lists from outside hospitals, telephone surveys of random households, and contacts with community physicians, Visiting Nurses' Services, and community agencies. Stroke incidence increased with age and was greater in men than in women. The average annual age-adjusted stroke incidence rate at age > or =20 years, per 100,000 population, was 223 for blacks, 196 for Hispanics, and 93 for whites. Blacks had a 2.4-fold and Hispanics a twofold increase in stroke incidence compared with whites. Cerebral infarct accounted for 77 percent of all strokes, intracerebral hemorrhage for 17 percent, and subarachnoid hemorrhage for 6 percent. These data from the Northern Manhattan Stroke Study suggest that part of the reported excess stroke mortality among blacks in the United States may be a reflection of racial/ethnic differences in stroke incidence.

Stroke Incidence among White, Black, and Hispanic Residents of an Urban Community The Northern Manhattan Stroke Study

We investigated the seasonal pattern of stroke using the Lehigh Valley Stroke Register. This register includes all patients hospitalized with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) from among the 600,000 Lehigh Valley residents. Meterological data were obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study, which uses 18 months of data, included 1,944 cases. Using single harmonic regression analysis, the seasonal pattern of TIA and infarction, but not hemorrhage, fit a sine-cosine wavefunction with a 12-month period (R2 = 41% and 36%, respectively). For infarction, the strongest seasonal pattern was exhibited for women of all ages and for both sexes in the age groups 65-74 and 75-84, but only the sine component was significant. The peak months for TIA were June-August, while the peak months for infarcts were February-April. Correlations between ambient temperature and each type of stroke were computed. A significant positive correlation for TIA was found (r = 0.57, p = 0.01). After adjusting for a 2-month lag between the low for infarction and the peak for temperature, a significant negative correlation was found (r = -0.64, p = 0.01). No significant correlation was found for hemorrhage. Possible reasons for the opposite relations of TIA and infarct are discussed.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: seasonal variation in incidence rates.

We investigated black/white differences in stroke rate (standardized morbidity), severity, and subtype, and the relative frequencies of 5 primary risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, other heart diseases, and transient ischemic attack [TIA]) using the Lehigh Valley Stroke Register. Blacks had a statistically significant higher, age-adjusted rate of stroke than whites. We found no differences in stroke severity using our measures but blacks had a statistically higher proportion of lacunar stroke, while whites had a higher proportion of embolic stroke. There were no differences in proportions of thrombotic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage. The relative frequencies of hypertension, myocardial infarction, other heart diseases, and diabetes were higher for blacks, while the relative frequency of TIA was higher for whites. These observations are consistent with other reports that blacks have a higher frequency of stroke and tend to have more small-vessel cerebrovascular pathology than whites.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: racial/ethnic differences.

Age-specific risk of recurrent stroke for various risk factors, calculated independently, was estimated using the first year of data from the Lehigh Valley Stroke Register. The register is based on a population of more than one-half million. Among the risk factors examined, the highest overall risk of recurrent stroke, 41.4, occurred with a history of at least one transient ischemic attack (TIA). After myocardial infarction (MI), the relative risk of a recurrent stroke was 8.0, while with all other heart diseases combined it was 8.4. With diabetes, the relative risk of a recurrent stroke was 5.6; with hypertension, it was 4.5. The relative risk increased with age after TIA and MI, but not for other heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension, except in the 85 + year-old age group.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: risk factors for recurrent stroke.

Since July 1982 a population-based study of stroke has been carried out in the Lehigh Valley, a region in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, USA, with 580,000 people. During the first year, the annual incidence rates of stroke and transient ischemic attack were 167 and 49 per 100,000 population, respectively. Cerebral thrombosis, embolus, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage accounted for 76, 13, 8 and 3% of the strokes, respectively. The overall incidence rate and distribution of stroke by type agree well with other population-based studies. The large size of the population in the Lehigh Valley means that information on the epidemiology of stroke, as well as the effects of various therapies on stroke frequency and outcome, can be collected in a shorter period of time than in most other communities studied to date. Finally, an assessment of concordance in diagnosis between attending physicians and a neurologist using standardized criteria was possible for the entire community.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: Incidence Based on a Community-Wide Hospital Register

We used the Lehigh Valley Stroke Register and a logistic regression model for the odds ratio to study the relative contribution of several factors, considered jointly, to the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke. The factors were hypertension (HT), transient ischemic attack (TIA), myocardial infarction (MI), other heart diseases (OHD), diabetes mellitus (DM), age, and sex. Among these factors MI, OHD, and TIA constituted significantly greater risk than HTN, DM, age, or sex for ischemic stroke recurrence.

R. L. McCoy

Papers

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: seasonal variation in incidence rates.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: racial/ethnic differences.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: risk factors for recurrent stroke.

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: Incidence Based on a Community-Wide Hospital Register

Stroke in the Lehigh Valley: Combined risk factors for recurrent ischemic stroke