Abstract
Background and aims
Risk calculators may provide important insights for stroke prevention. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the 10-year stroke risk calculator in primary care settings in a resource-limited country.
Methods
Adults and older adults attending primary care service from September, 2021 to November, 2022 in a resource-limited country were invited to participate. They were initially evaluated for comorbidities and vascular risk factors, including estimation of 10-year cardiovascular risk using the HEARTS risk calculator. Linear regression models were used to identify the most relevant predictors of stroke risk. Data are presented as mean± SD.
Results
A total of 368 individuals were included (60.91±8.97 years of age, 71.2% female). Most participants were classified as having an intermediate 10-year stroke risk (52.2%), followed by low (35.1%), and high risk (12.5%). The 10-year stroke risk was mainly predicted by tobacco use (β 2.17, p<0.001), male sex (β 1.36, p<0.001), blood pressure (β 0.06, p<0.001), physical inactivity (β 1.08, p=0.03), poor diet score (β 0.98, p=0.008), and overweight status (β 0.79, p=0.03) but not by dyslipidemia, diabetes or older age (p>0.05).
Conclusions
In this primary care-based study, most individuals were classified as having an intermediate 10-year risk for stroke. Primary stroke prevention strategies may benefit from the implementation of risk calculations to better target major predictors of stroke within public health policies.
Conflict of interest
Nothing to disclose