This website is intended for healthcare professionals only.
Take a look at a selection of our recent media coverage:
2nd December 2024
Adults who have irregular sleep patterns are 26% more likely to have a major cardiovascular event than those with a regular sleep-wake cycle, a new study shows.
Going to bed and waking up at different times was found to be detrimental to cardiac health and ‘strongly associated’ with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, even for people who got the recommended nightly hours of sleep, researchers found.
The study is one of the first to look at the patterns and habits of sleep rather than the length of time a person is asleep.
Published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, the findings highlight the importance of consistent sleep schedules as well as adequate sleep duration to reduce cardiovascular risks.
The researchers designed an observational study involving 72,269 people from the UK Biobank aged between 40 and 79 with no history of cardiovascular disease.
Each participant wore an activity tracker for seven days to monitor their sleep patterns, giving a Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) score. Participants with an SRI score of 87 were considered to have a regular sleep pattern, while those with an SRI score of less than 72 were categorised as irregular sleepers. People with SRI scores between this range were recorded as moderately irregular sleepers.
Cardiovascular health, including myocardial infarction, heart failure and stroke, was tracked over the next eight years using hospital records and death registries. Variables such as age, levels of physical activity, and general physical and mental health were accounted for.
Irregular sleepers were 26% more likely to have a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) compared to regular sleepers. Moderately irregular sleeping patterns led to an 8% increased risk of MACE.
As SRI scores increased to reflect more regular sleep patterns, the risk of MACE decreased, showing an almost linear relationship. This suggests that greater improvements in sleep regularity may lead to significant cardiovascular benefits.
The recommended amount of nightly sleep is between seven and nine hours for adults aged 18-64 and between seven and eight hours for adults over 65. Regular sleepers were more likely to meet this recommended quota than irregular sleepers (61% vs 48%, respectively).
For moderately irregular sleepers, meeting sleep duration recommendations could largely offset the elevated risk of cardiovascular events, the researchers found. For irregular sleepers, getting the recommended amount of sleep did not fully mitigate against the increased risk of MACE caused by the effects of changing sleep patterns.
The researchers suggested that although this is an observational study and further research is needed, sleep regularity could be a good predictor of future cardiovascular events.
The researchers commented: ‘Our results suggest that sleep regularity may be more relevant than sufficient sleep duration in modulating MACE risk.
‘Findings from this study suggest that more attention needs to be paid to sleep regularity in public health guidelines and clinical practice due to its potential role in cardiovascular health.’
A version of this article was originally published by our sister publication Nursing in Practice.
12th March 2024
Patients with kidney failure are at ‘an unacceptably high risk’ of myocardial infarction and stroke, but simple treatment strategies could make a difference, a study funded by the British Heart Foundation has found.
The research, which ran over 20 years, showed that patients who were either on dialysis or with a kidney transplant were up to eight times more likely to have a myocardial infarction and up to four times more likely to have a stroke than those without the condition.
The study highlighted a higher risk among women than men.
As a result of the significantly elevated risk of myocardial infarction and stroke and associated mortality amongst kidney failure patients, the researchers suggest that patients may benefit from anti-platelet medications and are calling for urgent clinical trials of these and similar medications.
Published in the European Heart Journal, the researchers used anonymised healthcare data from over 16,000 Scottish kidney failure patients from 1996 to 2016. They were able to examine whether myocardial infarction and stroke rate, treatments and survival had improved for kidney failure patients.
Over the course of two decades, the rate of myocardial infarction and strokes halved in kidney failure patients, and the associated deaths also fell. Between 1996 and 2016, amongst 16,050 patients with kidney failure (52±15 years; 41.5% women), there were 1,992 incident episodes of myocardial infarction and 996 incident episodes of stroke.
The most common underlying cause of kidney disease was diabetic nephropathy (24.4% [487/1,992] and 26.8% [267/996] for patients with myocardial infarction and stroke, respectively).
The reduction in rates of myocardial infarction and stroke were lower for patients with kidney failure than those seen in the general population over this time, and this gap became more pronounced for women than men.
For women with kidney failure the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for myocardial infarction increased from 6.38 in 1996 to 7.25 in 2014. In men, the IRR increased from 4.80 in 1996 to 5.45 in 2014.
For stroke, the changes in IRR were more modest, for women it was 3.92 in 1996 and 4.04 in 2014, whilst in men it was 2.92 in 1996 and 3.02 in 2014.
Kidney failure patients who had experienced myocardial infarction and stroke during the study had a chance of cardiovascular death at one year of 61.1% (1,217/1,992) and 52.5% (523/996), respectively.
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This comprehensive study shows that, despite some improvements in recent decades, kidney failure patients are still at an unacceptably high risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and in some cases dying.’
The research revealed that simple treatment strategies could improve survival rates among kidney failure patients who have a myocardial infarction or stroke. Following a myocardial infarction, patients who were newly prescribed dual antiplatelet therapy were less likely to die of cardiovascular causes within one year than those who were not (13.6% [41/301] versus 40.5% [75/185]).
Professor Neeraj Dhaun (Bean), professor of nephrology at the University of Edinburgh, who was involved in the research, said: ‘Kidney failure patients are typically excluded from trials of post-heart attack or stroke treatments, like anti-platelet drugs, that become standard for other groups. The resulting lack of data to prove the drugs are safe and effective means there is an understandable reluctance from many doctors to prescribe them for this very high-risk group.
‘However, our results do show that anti-platelet drugs are being prescribed more often for kidney failure patients in recent years and this could bring with it huge improvements in the rate of survival.’
He added: ‘There is an urgent need for a clinical trial of these, and similar, drugs in kidney failure patients. By determining whether they are truly safe and effective, we could potentially bring about a much-needed improvement in treatment for these people.’
4th September 2023
Individuals with a greater exercise capacity have a reduced risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), ischaemic stroke and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), according to the findings of a large study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, 2023.
AFib is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and has a number of different causes including auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Whether being physically fit might reduce the risk of developing AFib is unclear, although some evidence reveals a graded, inverse relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and incident AFib, especially among obese individuals.
The study included 15,450 individuals without AFib who had a mean age of 54.9 years (59% male). All participants were referred for a treadmill test between 2003 and 2012.
Fitness was assessed using the Bruce protocol, where participants are asked to walk faster and at a steeper grade in successive three-minute stages. It was then calculated according to the rate of energy expenditure the participants achieved, which was expressed in metabolic equivalents (METs).
Participants were then divided into three fitness levels according to the METs achieved during the treadmill test: low (less than 8.57 METs), medium (8.57 to 10.72) and high (more than 10.72).
The researchers looked for independent associations between exercise capacity on the treadmill and the risk of new-onset AFib, risk of ischaemic stroke and MACE. The results were adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, cholesterol level, kidney function, prior stroke, hypertension and any medications.
During the period of follow-up, new-onset AFib occurred in 3.33% of participants.
In fully adjusted models, each one MET increase in exercise treadmill testing, there was an associated 8% lower risk of AFib incidence (hazard ratio, HR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.88 – 0.97).
In addition, this one MET increase was also associated with a lower risk of ischaemic stroke (HR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.83 – 0.94) and a 14% reduced risk of MACE (HR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.84 – 0.88).
In fact, the probability of remaining free from AFib over a five-year period was calculated to be 97.1%, 98.4% and 98.4% in the low, medium and high exercise capacity groups, respectively.
Study author Dr Shih-Hsien Sung of the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taipei, Taiwan, said: ‘This was a large study with an objective measurement of fitness and more than 11 years of follow up. The findings indicate that keeping fit may help prevent atrial fibrillation and stroke.‘
25th August 2023
Survivors of a myocardial infarction (MI) who discontinue aspirin remain at an elevated risk of a subsequent infarction, stroke or even death over the next eight years compared to those who remain adherent to treatment.
These were the findings of a a study presented at the recent European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2023 in Amsterdam.
While the use of aspirin is no longer recommended for use as a primary preventative strategy, despite continued use, especially in the elderly, it remains an essential component of secondary prevention treatment.
Researchers used Danish nationwide health registries to look at patients aged 40 years and over who had a first MI and were prescribed aspirin during the first year after it. Their aim was to examine the extent to which MI survivors collected a prescription for aspirin over the next two, four, six and eight years and the clinical consequences of not taking the drug.
Adherence to aspirin at each of the four time points was assessed as the proportion of days patients had collected the drug over the preceding two years.
Non-adherence was defined when survivors used aspirin for 80% or less of the time and patients were excluded at each time point if they had experienced another heart attack, a stroke, died, or had been started on other anticoagulants or P2Y12 inhibitors.
The researchers analysed whether patients who did not take aspirin as prescribed had a higher risk of the composite outcome of recurrent heart attack, stroke or death compared with those who consistently took aspirin.
The study included 40,114 patients with a first-time MI. Adherence to aspirin progressively declined with each time point, from 90% at two years post-MI, to 84% at four years, 82% at six years and 81% at eight years.
At each of the time-points, adherence to aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of the composite outcome. For example, when compared to adherent patients, non-adherent patients had a 29%, 40%, 31% and 20% higher likelihood of recurrent heart attack, stroke or death at two, four, six and eight years post-MI, respectively.
Commenting on the findings, study author Dr Anna Meta Kristensen of Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg, Denmark, said: ‘Our findings suggest that not taking aspirin as prescribed after a heart attack is linked to a higher risk of having another heart attack, a stroke or dying.‘
However, she added: ‘Our results should be interpreted with caution because they show an association but do not establish causality. Since the study is registry-based, we do not have information about the specific reasons as to why patients did not take their aspirin.
‘Furthermore, our findings cannot be generalised to all patients who experience a heart attack, as our study specifically focused on those who received treatment with a coronary stent and were not taking other medications to prevent blood clot formation.
‘With that in mind, the results support current guidelines recommending long-term aspirin after a heart attack.‘
1st June 2023
SGLT-2 inhibitor use in people with both diabetes and atrial fibrillation reduces the risk of ischaemic strokes, according to the results of a longitudinal follow‐up study.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common global cardiac arrhythmia, affecting over three million people. Having AF increases the risk of ischaemic stroke with this risk stratified by the CHA2DS2-VASc score. Fasting hyperglycaemia is a risk factor for AF although the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors reduces this risk.
The researchers considered whether SGLT-2 inhibitors could therefore reduce the risk of ischaemic stroke in diabetics with AF. Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Taiwanese study followed a group of patients with both diabetes and AF who were prescribed either empagliflozin or dapagliflozin. These individuals were propensity matched to non-users and the incidence of ischaemic strokes documented over the next five years.
A total of 6,614 patients, 801 prescribed one of the SGLT-2 inhibitors, had usable data for analysis.
After five years, 809 patients with diabetes and AF developed an ischaemic stroke. However, the rate was significantly lower among SGLT-2 inhibitor users (p = 0.021).
As expected, there was an increased risk of stroke per one-point increase CHA2DS2‐VASc score (hazard ratio, HR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.20 – 1.29, p < 0.001). Adjusting for the CHA2DS2‐VASc score lowered the stroke risk by 20% among SGLT-2 inhibitor users (HR= 0.80, 95% CI 0.64 – 0.99, p = 0.043).
The findings prompted the authors to suggest clinicians upgrade SGLT-2 inhibitors for glycaemic control, especially in those with co-existing AF.
26th April 2023
The risk of different types of strokes is significantly lower in patients with atrial fibrillation who use who use one of the statin drugs.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia. Data from 2017 suggests that globally, the condition affects 3.046 million people. Moreover, AF leads to a five-fold increase in stroke risk with up to 30% of these due to the arrhythmia.
In data presented at EHRA 2023, the risk of strokes was lower in AF patients using statins within a year of their diagnosis. While it is already known that statin use in AF reduces the risk of all-cause mortality. But whether the drugs reduce stroke risk is uncertain.
However, some data suggests that high intensity statins may reduce cerebral events in patients with acute ischaemic stroke and AF.
In the study at EHRA 2023, researchers from Hong Kong, examined a cohort of newly diagnosed AF patients. Individuals were either statin or non-statin users in relation to their AF diagnosis. For instance, a statin user was taking the drug before their AF diagnosis.
The primary outcome was any form of stroke, e.g., ischaemic, systemic embolism, haemorrhagic or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
A total of 51,472 AF patients of whom, 11,866 were receiving a statin had analysable data.
During a median follow-up of 5.1 years, among statin users, the ischaemic stroke and systemic embolism risk was 17% lower than non-users (Hazard ratio, HR = 083, 95% CI 0.78 – 0.89). The risk of a haemorrhagic stroke (HS) was 7% lower (HR = 0.93) and the TIA risk 15% lower (HR = 0.85).
Use of statins for 6 years would reduce the risk of an ischaemic stroke or system embolism by 43% compared to use for less than 2 years (HR = 0.57). This risk was also lower for the other cerebral events.
9th January 2023
Infection with herpes zoster is associated with a higher long‐term risk of a major cardiovascular event such as a stroke and the development of coronary heart disease, according to an analysis of three large, prospective studies by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston, US.
Herpes zoster (HZ) occurs after reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus which is both persistent and clinically dormant, within spinal ganglia or cranial sensory nerves following an initial infection with varicella. In fact, HZ strikes millions of older adults annually worldwide and disables a substantial number of them via post-herpetic neuralgia. Moreover, in recent years, emerging evidence suggests that HZ infection leads to 1.3 to 4-fold increased risk of cerebrovascular events with a higher risk among adults under 40 years of age and within one year after an HZ episode. However, what remains unclear, is the long‐term association between HZ infection and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events or cardiovascular disease.
In the present study, US researchers investigated the longitudinal association of herpes zoster (or ‘shingles’) and the risk of stroke or coronary heart disease (CHD) among participants in 3 large US cohorts; the NHS (Nurses’ Health Study), NHS II (Nurses’ Health Study II), and HPFS (Health Professionals Follow-Up Study). Within the three cohorts, participants were asked to self-report about clinician‐diagnosed shingles and the year of diagnosis. The primary exposure for the study was categorised according to time (in years) since the participant’s HZ event and those with no history of HZ served as the reference group. The researchers then categorised the time since HZ as never, 1 to 4 years since infection, 5 to 8 years, 9 to 12 years and ≥13 years. In their analysis, adjustment were made for several factors that could potentially be related to HZ and stroke or CHD, including age, race, smoking history, body mass index, waist circumference etc.
Herpes zoster infection and cardiovascular events
The study included data on 79,658 women in the NHS, 93,932 in the NHS II and 31,440 men in the HPFS (2004-2016), without prior stroke or CHD. During >2 million person-years of follow-up, 3603 incident stroke and 8620 incident CHD cases were documented.
In a pooled analyses and compared to those without a history of HZ infection, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for stroke was non-significant for those with 1 to 4 years since HZ infection (HR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.88 – 1.25). However, the associations became significant as the duration from infection increased. For example, among those with 5 to 8 years since HZ, the hazard ratio was 1.38 (95% CI 1.10 – 1.74) and 1.28 (95% CI 1.03 – 1.59) among those with for 9 to 12 years since HZ. Interestingly, the association became non-significant among those with ≥13 years since HZ (HR = 1.19, 95% CI 0.90 – 1.56).
When considering CHD, the corresponding multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were similar, e.g. 1.25 (95% CI 1.07 – 1.46) for 9 to 12 years and, as with stroke, the risk of CHD became non-significant after ≥13 years (HR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.83 – 1.21).
The authors concluded that herpes zoster is associated with a higher long-term risk of a major cardiovascular event, underscoring the importance of prevention of infection.
Citation
Curhan SG et al. Herpes Zoster and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022
8th December 2022
Individuals with higher levels of morning physical activity have the lowest risk of incident cardiovascular disease and stroke compared to those who have a midday peak pattern according to an analysis by Dutch researchers.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of global mortality with an estimated 17.9 million lives lost each year. One modifiable factor linked to CVD is physical activity (PA) and data suggests that PA is not only associated with lower risk for of CVD but that the greatest benefit is seen for those who engage in higher levels of activity. However, emerging evidence suggests that the timing of PA may also be an important and influential factor. For example, in a study of more than 7,000 women, researchers found that women who are less active during morning hours may be at higher risk of obesity. In addition, an exercise-based trial which considered the impact of exercise timing on weight loss, showed that morning physical activity led to a significantly higher weight loss compared to evening activity. But mornings might not always be best as a study in men with type 2 diabetes observed that those who undertook high intensity interval training (HIIT) in an afternoon compared to morning session, had better glucose control.
In trying to better understand the impact of the timing of physical activity on the risk of incident CVD, the Dutch researchers collected physical activity data from participants in the UK-Biobank through triaxial accelerometer over a 7-day period which collected 24-hour mean activity levels. The team then used this data to create four different clusters of physical activity: cluster 1 represented the average pattern among the total biobank population which peaked around midday; cluster 2 were those with an early morning peak; cluster 3 a late morning peak and cluster 4, those with an evening peak. Regression analysis was used based on two models, the first (model 1) was adjusted for age and gender, and the second (model 2) additionally adjusted for body mass index and smoking status.
Morning physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes
A total of 86,657 individuals with a mean age of 61.6 years (58% female) were included and followed for 6 years during which time there were 2,911 cases of incident CVD and 796 strokes.
In an analysis based on model 1, participants who had higher levels of morning or later morning (clusters 2 and 3) physical activity, had a 11% (hazard ratio, HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.80 – 0.99) and 16% (HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.77 – 0.92) respectively, lower incidence of incident CVD compared to those in cluster 1. However, only those in cluster 3 (late morning physical activity) had a significantly reduced risk of stroke (HR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.70 – 0.98) and ischaemic stroke (HR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.64 – 0.97). Interestingly, when the researchers used model 2, the benefits were no longer statistically significant apart from a reduced risk of ischaemic stroke for those in cluster 3 (HR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.57 – 0.94).
In subgroup analysis based on gender and using model 2, there were statistically significant reductions in the risk of incident CVD but only among women who were either early and later morning exercisers. In addition, the risk of ischaemic stroke was only significantly lower among women in cluster 3 (HR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.38 – 0.83). When stratifying by participant levels of activity (i.e., either less or more active) and using model 2, although there were reductions in the risk of both CVD and stroke, among those who were more active, these reductions were non-significant.
The authors concluded that morning physical activity was associated with lower risks of incident cardiovascular diseases and that these findings highlighted the potential importance of chrono-activity in CVD prevention.
Citation
Albalak G et al. Setting your clock: associations between timing of objective physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk in the general population. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2022
9th August 2022
COVID-19 vaccination provides individuals with a reduced risk of experiencing an acute myocardial infarction or ischaemic stroke after becoming infected with the virus according to the findings of a study by Korean researchers.
It has now become recognised that following an acute infection with COVID-19, beyond the first 30 days, individuals with COVID-19 have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and which includes cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure and thromboembolic disease. While it is clear that a COVID-19 vaccination is safe and offers protection against severe COVID-19, hospitalisation and death against all current variants of concern, what is less clear is whether vaccination is able to reduce the post-infection cardiovascular sequelae.
As a result, for the present study, the Korean researchers undertook a retrospective cohort study and compared the incidence of acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke in those with and without full COVID-19 vaccination. They linked data from the Korean nationwide COVID-19 registry and the National Health Insurance database and included all adults who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between July 2020 and December 2021.
However, the team excluded several patient groups including: individuals whose data showed that they had a cardiovascular event three months before a COVID-19 infection, cases of re-infection with the virus and patients who were vaccinated but hospitalised with the virus for longer than 30 days.
They set the primary outcome of interest as a composite of all hospitalisations for an acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke and which had occurred 31 to 120 days after an individual’s COVID-19 diagnosis. They decided to exclude cardiovascular events within the first 30 days of infection because of the inherent difficulty of differentiating whether the event was related to infection of treatment.
COVID-19 vaccination and cardiovascular outcomes
A total of 231,037 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 62,727 were unvaccinated and with a median age of 42 years (51.5% female). The median age of the vaccinated group was higher (57 years) and had a greater incidence of co-morbidities including diabetes (11.8% vs 7.1%, vaccinated vs unvaccinated) and hypertension (22.1% vs 10.8%). Furthermore, a higher proportion of unvaccinated individuals had severe COVID-19 (3.1% vs 9.8%).
The median period of follow-up was 90 days in the unvaccinated and 84 days in the fully vaccinated group (which was defined as receipt of 2 doses of a vaccine).
The composite outcome occurred in 31 unvaccinated individuals and 74 of those who were fully vaccinated and after adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics, this difference was statistically significant (hazard ratio, HR = 0.42, 95% CI -.29 – 0.62, p < 0.001). This difference was also significant for the individual components of the composite.
The authors concluded that full COVID-19 vaccination was protective against the acute myocardial infarction and an ischaemic stroke that could arise after infection with the virus, compared with individuals who were unvaccinated.
Citation
Kim YE et al. Association Between Vaccination and Acute Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic Stroke After COVID-19 Infection JAMA 2022
10th January 2022
The subsequent stroke risk among those who experience a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is higher in patients seen at an emergency department compared to those seen at a rapid-access TIA clinic according to a meta-analysis by a team from the Neurology Department, Neuroscience Institute, Geisinger Health System, Pennsylvania, US.
After a TIA, the ischaemic stroke risk can range from 2.4% within 2 days to 4.7% within 90 days although the authors of this study hint that this risk may have reduced in the last two decades. Although patients with a suspected stroke might normally visit a hospital, the availability of 24-hour TIA clinics with immediate initiation of preventive treatment, have the potential to greatly reduce length of hospital stay.
Despite the presence of TIA clinics there is currently little is known about the outcomes for those experiencing a TIA who have been treated in different care settings. For the present study, the US team performed a meta-analysis to estimate and compare the risk of a subsequent ischaemic stroke in those with a TIA or minor ischaemic stroke (mIS) who received their care at either a rapid access TIA clinic, an inpatient unit, emergency departments (EDs) or other settings.
The researchers focused on the subsequent stroke risk after 4 defined time periods; 2, 7, 30 and 90 days. Their literature search covered medline, Embase, CINAHL and clinical trial databases for studies that provided information on the occurrence of an ischaemic stroke after a TIA or mIS and included both retrospective and prospective studies.
The primary outcome of the study was the proportion of early ischaemic strokes after the index TIA or mIS among patients receiving care in the four different settings and they focused their comparison on a TIA clinic vs inpatient facilities.
Findings
A total of 71 studies were included in the final analysis with 226,683 patients, 5636 from a TIA clinic, 130,136 inpatients, 3605 emergency department patient and 87,303 from a unspecified centre. The mean age of patients ranged from 65.7 to 78.3 years and proportion of male patients from 38.4% to 52.4%.
The stroke risk after a TIA or mIS at a TIA clinic was 0.3% within 2 days, 1% within 7 days, 1.3% after 30 days and 2.1% after 90 days. The highest risk was for patients treated at unspecified settings and which ranged from 2.2 % within 2 days to 6% within 90 days.
When comparing the stroke risk between a TIA clinic or inpatient facility, there was no significant difference in any of the 4 time intervals. However, the risks were significantly higher among those receiving emergency department care compared to a TIA clinic within 2, 7 and 90 days.
The authors concluded that the risk of subsequent stroke among patients who were evaluated in a TIA clinic was not higher than among those hospitalised adding that patients treated in an emergency department without further follow-up had a higher risk of subsequent stroke.
Citation
Shahjouei S et al. Risk of Subsequent Stroke Among Patients Receiving Outpatient vs Inpatient Care for Transient Ischemic Attack: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis JAMA Netw Open 2022
IMPORTANT LINKS
MORE FROM COGORA
© Cogora 2025
Cogora Limited. 1 Giltspur Street, London EC1A 9DD
Registered in the United Kingdom. Reg. No. 2147432
