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- Aarnio, K., et al.
(author)
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Cardiovascular events after ischemic stroke in young adults: A prospective follow-up study
- 2016
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In: Neurology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0028-3878 .- 1526-632X. ; 86:20, s. 1872-1879
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives:To study the long-term risk of recurrent cardiac, arterial, and venous events in young stroke patients, and whether these risks differed between etiologic subgroups.Methods:The study population comprised 970 patients aged 15-49 years from the Helsinki Young Stroke Registry (HYSR) who had an ischemic stroke in 1994-2007. We obtained follow-up data until 2012 from the Finnish Care Register and Statistics Finland. Cumulative 15-year risks were analyzed with life tables, whereas relative risks and corresponding confidence intervals (CI) were based on hazard ratios (HR) from Cox regression analyses.Results:There were 283 (29.2%) patients with a cardiovascular event during the median follow-up of 10.1 years (range 0.1-18.0). Cumulative 15-year risk for venous events was 3.9%. Cumulative 15-year incidence rate for composite vascular events was 34.0 (95% CI 30.1-38.2) per 1,000 person-years. When adjusted for age and sex, patients with an index stroke caused by high-risk sources of cardioembolism had the highest HR for any subsequent cardiovascular events (3.7; 95% CI 2.6-5.4), whereas the large-artery atherosclerosis group had the highest HR (2.7; 95% CI 1.6-4.6) for recurrent stroke compared with patients with stroke of undetermined etiology.Conclusions:The risk for future cardiovascular events after ischemic stroke in young adults remains high for years after the index stroke, in particular when the index stroke is caused by high-risk sources of cardioembolism or large-artery atherosclerosis.
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| 2. |
- Pirinen, J., et al.
(author)
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Resting 12-lead electrocardiogram reveals high-risk sources of cardioembolism in young adult ischemic stroke
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273. ; 198, s. 196-200
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The diagnostic work-up to reveal etiology in a young ischemic stroke (IS) patient includes evaluation for high-risk source of cardioembolism (HRCE), since this subtype associates with high early recurrence rate and mortality. We investigated the association of ECG findings with a final etiologic subgroup of HRCE in a cohort of young patients with first-ever IS. Methods: The Helsinki Young Stroke Registry includes IS patients aged 15 to 49 years admitted between 1994 and 2007. Blinded to other clinical data, we analyzed a 12-lead resting ECG obtained 1-14 days after the onset of stroke symptoms in 690 patients. We then compared the ECG findings between a final diagnosis of HRCE (n = 78) and other/undetermined causes (n = 612). We used multivariate logistic regression to study the association between ECG parameters and HRCE. Results: Of our cohort (63% male), 35% showed ECG abnormality, the most common being T-wave inversion (16%), left ventricular hypertrophy (14%), prolonged P-wave (13%), and prolonged QTc (12%). 3% had atrial fibrillation (AF), and 4% P-terminal force (PTF). Of the continuous parameters, longer QRS-duration, QTc, and wider QRS-T-angle independently associated with HRCE. After AF, PTF had the strongest independent association with HRCE (odds ratio = 44.32, 95% confidence interval = [10.51-186.83]), followed by a QRS-T angle > 110 degrees (8.29 [3.55-19.32]), T-wave inversion (5.06, 2.54-10.05), and prolonged QTc (3.02 [1.39-6.56]). Conclusion: Routine ECG provides useful information for directing the work-up of a young IS patient. In addition to AF, PTF in particular showed a strong association with etiology of HRCE. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Putaala, J., et al.
(author)
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Undetermined stroke with an embolic pattern-a common phenotype with high early recurrence risk
- 2015
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In: Annals of Medicine. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0785-3890 .- 1365-2060. ; 47:5, s. 406-413
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction. Undetermined strokes with an embolic pattern (USEP) represent a common phenotype. We assessed their frequency and compared USEP with cardioembolic stroke with a known source and non-cardioembolic stroke etiology. Methods. Study patients were 540 consecutive ischemic stroke patients admitted to Helsinki University Hospital with primary end-point of recurrent stroke in a 21-month follow-up. Cox regression adjusting for CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc and anticoagulation estimated the risk of USEP on recurrent stroke. Results. A total of 229 (42.4%) patients had a non-cardioembolic stroke etiology, 184 (34.1%) had a cardioembolic stroke with a known source, and 127 (23.5%) were classified as USEP. USEP patients had less diabetes and prior TIA, with more severe symptoms than the non-cardioembolic stroke cases. They were younger, had fewer comorbidities, and less severe symptoms than the cardioembolic stroke patients. Cumulative risk of recurrent stroke was 10.0% (95% CI 4.1%-15.9%) for USEP, 5.0% (1.1%-8.9%) for cardioembolic strokes, and 5.0% (3.0%-7.0%) for non-cardioembolic strokes (P = 0.089). USEP associated with a higher risk of recurrent stroke compared to non-cardioembolic strokes (hazard ratio 2.36, 95% CI 1.02-5.47; P = 0.046) and cardioembolic stroke with a known source (1.83, 1.07-3.14; P = 0.028). Conclusions. Despite their younger age and more favorable risk factor profile compared with other phenotypes, USEP exhibited a high risk of stroke recurrence.
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