Long-term survival after first-ever stroke: the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project

M S Dennis, J P Burn, P A Sandercock, J M Bamford, D T Wade, C P Warlow

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There have been relatively few community-based studies of long-term prognosis after acute stroke. This study aimed to provide precise estimates of the absolute and relative risks of dying in an unselected cohort of patients with a first-ever stroke.

METHODS: Six hundred seventy-five patients were registered by a community-based stroke register (the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project) and prospectively followed up for up to 6.5 years. Their relative risk of death was calculated using age- and sex-specific mortality rates for Oxfordshire.

RESULTS: During the first 30 days, 129 (19%) patients died. Patients who survived at least 30 days after a first-ever stroke thereafter had an average annual risk of death of 9.1%, 2.3-fold the risk in people from the general population. Although the absolute (about 15%) and relative (about threefold) risks of death were highest in these 30-day survivors over the first year after the stroke, they were at increased risk of dying over the next few years (range of relative risk for individual years, 1.1-2.9). Predictably, older patients had a worse absolute survival but, relative to the general population, stroke also increased the relative risk of dying in younger patients. During the first 30 days stroke accounts for most deaths; after this time nonstroke cardiovascular disease becomes increasingly important and is the most common cause of death after the first year.

CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the importance of long-term secondary prevention of vascular events in stroke patients, targeted as much at the cardiovascular as at the cerebrovascular circulation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)796-800
Number of pages5
JournalStroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
Volume24
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Jun 1993

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Cerebrovascular Disorders
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Great Britain
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Registries
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors
  • Survival Rate

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