Table I.
Clinical characteristics of 867 recurrent stroke patients with previous ischemic stroke admitted from 1995–2013
| Parameter | Years 1995–1999 | Years 2000–2004 | Years 2005–2009 | Years 2010–2013 | Overall p |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Value | N | Value | N | Value | N | Value | ||
| General information: | |||||||||
| Male gender, n (%) | 109 | 48 (44.0) | 274 | 139 (50.7) | 289 | 132 (45.7) | 195 | 97 (49.7) | 0.500 |
| Age, median (IQR) [years] | 109 | 73 (65–83) | 274 | 74 (66–80) | 289 | 76 (67–83) | 195 | 77 (69–83) | 0.022 |
| Patients aged < 55 years, n (%) | 109 | 11 (10.1) | 274 | 21 (7.6) | 289 | 17 (5.9) | 195 | 7 (3.6) | 0.119 |
| Patients aged ≥ 80 years, n (%) | 109 | 36 (33.0) | 274 | 73 (26.6) | 289 | 102 (35.3) | 195 | 73 (37.4) | 0.059 |
| Ischemic stroke, n (%) | 109 | 96 (88.1) | 274 | 246 (89.8) | 289 | 263 (91.0) | 195 | 183 (93.9) | 0.319 |
| Baseline NIHSS, median (IQR) | 109 | 13 (7–22) | 245 | 14 (7–21) | 230 | 10 (5–19)a,b | 194 | 8 (4–17)a | < 0.001 |
| Vascular risk factors: | |||||||||
| Hypertension, n (%) | 104 | 84 (80.8) | 272 | 223 (82.0) | 282 | 248 (87.9) | 191 | 169 (88.5) | 0.066 |
| Atrial fibrillation, n (%) | 104 | 29 (27.9) | 270 | 83 (30.7) | 285 | 104 (36.5) | 192 | 68 (35.4) | 0.277 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 109 | 33 (30.3) | 274 | 73 (26.6) | 289 | 84 (29.1) | 195 | 57 (29.2) | 0.866 |
| Congestive heart failure, n (%) | 104 | 29 (27.9) | 268 | 79 (29.5) | 283 | 88 (31.1) | 187 | 54 (28.9) | 0.920 |
| Coronary artery disease, n (%) | 104 | 40 (38.5) | 270 | 117 (43.3) | 271 | 116 (42.8) | 189 | 69 (36.5) | 0.419 |
| Myocardial infarction in past, n (%) | 104 | 26 (25.0) | 269 | 50 (18.6) | 286 | 54 (18.9) | 193 | 41 (21.2) | 0.501 |
| Tobacco smoking, n (%): | |||||||||
| Current | 102 | 17 (16.7) | 267 | 58 (21.7) | 281 | 56 (19.9) | 185 | 34 (18.4) | 0.282 |
| Previous | 14 (13.7) | 52 (19.5) | 60 (21.4) | 46 (24.9) | |||||
| Never | 71 (69.6) | 157 (58.8) | 165 (58.7) | 105 (56.7) | |||||
| Total cholesterol, median (IQR) | 96 | 200 (173–236) | 226 | 201 (173–229) | 261 | 179 (151–215)a,b | 184 | 164 (141–202)a | < 0.001 |
| ≤ 200 mg/dl, n (%) | 49 (51.0) | 111 (49.1) | 176 (67.4)a,b | 137 (74.5)a | < 0.001 | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | 78 | 131 (110–154) | 222 | 131 (108–159) | 260 | 111 (85–140a,b | 177 | 96 (72–127)a,b | < 0.001 |
| ≤ 75 mg/dl, n (%) | 6 (7.7) | 11 (5.0) | 45 (17.3)a,b | 52 (29.4)a,b | < 0.001 | ||||
a
Significant difference compared with the 1995–1999 period
b
significant difference compared with the preceding period
IQR – interquartile range, LDL – low density lipoprotein.