Stroke registry: hemorrhagic vs ischemic strokes

Abstract

Background: Epidemiologic studies of stroke in the 1970s and 1980s have reported the percentage of ischemic stroke as 73% to 86%, with hemorrhagic stroke as only 8% to 18%; the remainder was undetermined (due to not performing computed tomographic [CT] scanning or an autopsy). In our clinical work, it appeared anecdotally to the authors that we were seeing more hemorrhagic strokes than these previously quoted figures.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review for 1 year of all patients discharged from the hospital, a regional stroke center, with a diagnosis of stroke; we compared ischemic to hemorrhagic stroke types.

Results: There were 757 patients included. Of the patients, 41.9% were hemorrhagic and 58.1% were ischemic.

Conclusion: There were a much greater percentage of hemorrhagic strokes in this population than would have been predicted from previous studies. This finding may be due to improvement of CT scan availability and implementation unmasking a previous underestimation of the actual percentage or to an increase in therapeutic use of antiplatelet agents and warfarin causing an increase in the incidence of hemorrhage.