Ischemic stroke in Korean young adults
1Department of Neurology, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Objectives:
To evaluate the characteristics of ischemic stroke in Korean young adults.
Material And Methods:
We prospectively studied 149 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke aged between 15 to 44 years who were admitted to Asan Medical Center. All patients underwent brain CT/MRI and the majority of them underwent cerebral anglogram, echocardiography and laboratory studies for coagulopathy and vasculitis. Stroke subtypes were classified according to TOAST criteria.
Results:
In our study, men (75.2%) significantly outnumbered women. Stroke subtypes were: large artery atherosclerosis 20.8%), small artery occlusive disease 17.4%), cardioembolism 18.1%, undetermined causes 16.8%, and other determined etiologies 26.8%. The prevalence of hypertension, cigarette smoking and habitual alcohol consumption was significantly higher in men than in women.
Conclusions:
Compared to the western studies, the deviation of sex ratio and the relative proportion of large artery atherosclerosis/small artery occlusion was higher. Heavy exposure to risk factors such as hypertension and cigarette smoking in Korean young men may explain these differences.
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