Long term prognosis after occlusion of middle cerebral artery

Seventy patients who had developed occlusion of the middle cerebral artery confirmed by angiography between 1970 and 1980 were followed up after an average of six years. Fourteen patients had died in the acute stage of the initial stroke. In the remaining 56 patients actuarial analysis showed that the observed incidence of survival for five years was 81.8% compared with an incidence of 94.1% in a matched normal population. Six patients sustained new strokes, four of which were ipsilateral to the middle cerebral artery occlusion. The observed cumulative incidence of subsequent strokes was 2% a year for the first five years of follow up. Twelve patients developed epileptic seizures.