Background
To describe the incidence of ischemic stroke, short-term mortality, recurrences, and
prescription patterns.
Methods
Data from administrative health databases of the Lombardy Region from 2002 to 2010
(about 4 million people) were analyzed for stroke incidence and recurrence, mortality,
and drug prescriptions after an ischemic stroke.
Results
A total of 43,352 patients with a first hospital admission for ischemic stroke were
identified. During 8 years, stroke incidence decreased from 3.2 of 1000 to 2.4 of
1000 (P < .001) in people aged 65-74 years, from 7.1 of 1000 to 5.3 of 1000 (P < .001) at ages 75-84 years and from 11.9 of 1000 to 9.4 of 1000 (P < .001) at age 85 years or older. Stroke recurrences dropped by 30% (from 10.0% to
7.0%, P < .001) and 30-day mortality rate also decreased. Prescription trends showed linear
increase in antiplatelets and lipid-lowering drugs, respectively, from 60.2% to 65.0%
(P < .001) and from 19.1% to 34.6% (P < .001), whereas antihypertensive prescriptions did not change appreciably. Anticoagulant
prescription increased in patients with atrial fibrillation, from 64.8% to 72.1% in
the 65-74 years age group, (P = .004) and from 40.2% to 53.7% in the 75-84 years age group (P < .001); less than 20% of the 85 years or older age group were treated with anticoagulants
(P < .0001).
Conclusions
Stroke incidence, recurrence, and 30-day mortality decreased from 2002 to 2010 concomitant
with an increase in prescriptions of secondary stroke prevention drugs.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2015
Accepted:
May 6,
2015
Received in revised form:
March 10,
2015
Received:
January 8,
2015
Footnotes
There are no conflicts of interest.
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2015.05.008
Copyright
© 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
