The Impact of Modifiable Risk Factors on the Short-term Outcome of Stroke

Objective: The high stroke morbidity and related mortality in Central-Eastern European countries might be related to several factors. In this study we used a large, database from Tîrgu Mureș (Romania) to investigate the impact of risk factors on the short-term outcome of stroke. We opted for this method as hospital databases usually provide more detailed information on risk factors, stroke severity and correlated outcome than population based registries.
Methods: We analyzed the data of 1478 consecutively hospitalized stroke patients during a period of one year, regardless of the ward they were admitted to. We recorded risk factors, stroke severity and correlated with the short-term outcome (i.e. in-hospital outcome, assessed by Glasgow Outcome Scale) of stroke.
Results: Significantly more men and patients with a lower age than the European average were admitted. 26% of admitted patients had a previous cerebrovascular disease in their history. The prevalence of modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, smoking, etc was higher than in other European countries. Overall case fatality was 10.4% and 75% of discharged patients had some degree of disability. Outcome at discharge was worse with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increased heart rate, higher serum glucose, higher white blood cell count as well as decreased consciousness and increased age.
Conclusions: In this large hospital based database we found an alarming number of untreated and frequently aggregated risk factors. Our findings emphasize the role of modifiable risk factors as well as indicate major opportunities for more efficient stroke prevention.