Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with cognitive trajectory in the first year after stroke

Stroke often leads to cognitive impairment, but its progression and influencing factors over time remain poorly understood. This study evaluates immediate post-stroke cognitive impacts and investigates the influence of concurrent factors on cognitive evolution over the first year.

In the STRATEGIC study, 179 patients with first symptomatic ischemic stroke underwent neuropsychological assessments within three months post-stroke, and 141 were re-evaluated at 12 months. Risk factors tested for associations with cognitive outcome included demographic variables, cardiovascular and other medical factors, and lesion characteristics. Cognitive performance was primarily measured via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), with domain-specific assessments for episodic memory (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Task), short-term memory (Digit Span forward), and working memory (Digit Span backward).

At the time of stroke, participants ranged in age from 46 to 89 years (M = 70, SD = 9.5) and 36.9% were female. Ischemic heart disease predicted cognitive non-improvement between 3 and 12 months. Atrial fibrillation and carotid stenosis were linked to changes in episodic and working memory, respectively. Moreover, female sex and lower education correlated with stagnant global cognition and episodic memory.

Our findings underscore the important influence of cardiovascular risk factors on cognitive functional recovery after stroke. Interventions targeting these risk factors may improve cognitive prognosis and affect traditional outcome measures such as recurrent vascular events. Future trials should include cognitive measures to fully capture the potential benefits of intensive risk factor intervention.