Secondary Prevention in Patients With Stroke Versus Myocardial Infarction: Analysis of 2 National Cohorts

Cyprien A Rivier1, Julian N Acosta1, Audrey C Leasure2

  • 1Department of Neurology, Center for Brain and Mind Health Yale School of Medicine New Haven CT.

Insights

Patients with a history of stroke have poorer cardiovascular prevention compared to those with myocardial infarction (MI). This highlights a need to improve secondary prevention strategies for stroke survivors.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Cardiovascular risk factors are similar for stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
  • Preventive therapy implementation in stroke patients is less understood than in MI patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that stroke patients have a worse cardiovascular prevention profile than MI patients.
  • To compare secondary prevention adherence between stroke and MI cohorts.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank and All of Us Research Program data.
  • Evaluation of low-density lipoprotein control, blood pressure control, statin use, antiplatelet therapy use, and a composite cardiovascular prevention score.
  • Assessment of 14,760 participants (UK Biobank) and 7,315 participants (All of Us).

Main Results:

  • Stroke patients had significantly lower odds of meeting all preventive criteria compared to MI patients in both cohorts.
  • Lower odds observed for low-density lipoprotein control, blood pressure control, statin use, and antiplatelet therapy use in stroke patients.
  • Race, ethnicity, and neighborhood deprivation influenced the odds of achieving a good cardiovascular prevention score.

Conclusions:

  • Patients with stroke exhibit poorer cardiovascular prevention profiles and lower adherence to guideline-directed therapies than MI patients.
  • Findings indicate a need to investigate the reasons for underuse of secondary prevention in stroke survivors.
  • Targeted interventions may be necessary to improve secondary prevention in this population.
Abstract