Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of younger (≤50 years) versus older (>50 years) patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).
| Characteristic | Older with ESUS (N = 108) | Younger with ESUS (N = 39) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years). Mean ± SD | 63.9 ± 8.2 | 42.9 ± 7.7 | <0.0001 |
|
| |||
| Female sex. No. (%) | 39 (36.11) | 11 (28.2) | 0.4 |
|
| |||
| Medical history. No. (%) | |||
| Ischaemic heart disease | 8 (7.4) | 2 (5.1) | 1.0 |
| Arterial hypertension | 76 (70.3) | 17 (43.6) | 0.004 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 62 (57.4) | 14 (35.9) | 0.03 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 31 (28.7) | 5 (12.8) | 0.05 |
| Body mass index (BMI). Mean ± SD | 27.8 ± 6.6 | 28.7 ± 5.9 | 0.2 |
| History of smoking | 15 (13.9) | 8 (20.5) | 0.3 |
| Previous ischaemic stroke or TIA | 24 (22.2) | 5 (12.8) | 0.2 |
|
| |||
| Pre-stroke mRS (0–1). No. (%)∗ | 95 (87.9) | 37 (94.9) | 0.36 |
| NIHSS score on admission. Median (IQR)† | 5.0 (8.0) | 3.0 (9.0) | 0.8 |
|
| |||
| Treatment with t-PA or EVT. No. (%) | 5 (4.6) | 4 (10.3) | 0.2 |
ESUS, embolic stroke of undetermined source; EVT, endovascular thrombectomy; IQR, interquartile range; mRS, modified rankin scale; NIHSS, national institutes of health stroke scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; t-PA, tissue plasminogen activator. ∗mRS scores range from 0 (no neurologic deficit) to 6 (death). †NIHSS scores range from 0 (normal function) to 42 (death), with higher scores indicating a greater neurological deficit.