Related Experiment Videos
Stroke: epidemiology, clinical picture, and risk factors--Part I of III
T J Tegos1, E Kalodiki, S S Daskalopoulou
1Department of Vascular Surgery, St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, England. t.tegos@ic.ac.uk
Insights
This review defines stroke and transient ischemic attacks, detailing numerous risk factors like hypertension and smoking. It also analyzes carotid artery characteristics and cerebral circulation
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Vascular Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide.
- Understanding stroke definitions, risk factors, and arterial characteristics is crucial for prevention and management.
- This review provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on stroke.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present current knowledge regarding stroke definitions and clinical presentations.
- To detail the role of various risk factors in stroke etiology.
- To analyze carotid artery characteristics and their significance in cerebrovascular disease.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of current knowledge on stroke.
- Detailed discussion of established and potential stroke risk factors.
- Analysis of carotid artery pathologies, including atheroma, stenosis, and dissection.
- Presentation of cerebral collateral circulation and predisposing conditions for stroke subtypes.
Main Results:
- Definitions of amaurosis fugax, vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attack, and stroke are presented.
- The influence of age, gender, ethnicity, heredity, hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, and other factors on stroke risk is discussed.
- Carotid artery characteristics such as plaque echomorphology, ulceration, and stenosis are analyzed.
- The significance of cerebral collateral circulation and factors predisposing to cardioembolism and cerebral hemorrhage are outlined.
Conclusions:
- Part I of this review establishes the clinical definitions and risk factors for stroke.
- Comprehensive understanding of these elements is essential for effective stroke prevention and early diagnosis.
- Further parts will cover pathogenesis, investigations, management, and rehabilitation.
Abstract:
The aim of this review is to present the current knowledge regarding stroke. It will appear in three parts (in part II the pathogenesis, investigations, and prognosis will be presented, while part III will consist of the management and rehabilitation). In the current part (I) the definitions of the clinical picture are presented. These include: amaurosis fugax, vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attack, and stroke (with good recovery, in evolution and complete). The role of the following risk factors is discussed in detail: age, gender, ethnicity, heredity, hypertension, cigarette smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, fibrinogen and clotting factors, oral contraceptives, erythrocytosis and hematocrit level, prior cerebrovascular and other diseases, physical inactivity, diet and alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, and genetic predisposition. In particular, regarding the carotid arteries, the following characteristics are analyzed: atheroma, carotid plaque echomorphology, carotid stenosis, presence of ulcer, local variations in surface deformability, pathological characteristics, and dissection. Finally the significance of the cerebral collateral circulation and the conditions predisposing to cardioembolism and to cerebral hemorrhage are presented.