One-year outcomes and secondary prevention in patients after acute minor stroke: results from the China National Stroke Registry.

OBJECTIVES: Limited data are available on secondary preventive therapy use and patient outcomes after acute minor ischemic stroke in China. This study investigated secondary prevention strategies and outcomes up to 1 year after minor ischemic stroke.

METHODS: Patients from the China National Stroke Registry experienced a minor ischemic stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score ≤5) and admitted to hospital within 24 hours of symptom onset were included. One-year rates of recurrent stroke, stroke-related disability, and all-cause death were evaluated. Risk factors associated with 1-year stroke recurrence were examined in a multivariate model. The secondary prevention strategies in the acute phase were evaluated as combination of secondary prevention medication classes and the medications used in 1 year follow-up were examined.

RESULTS: The study included 1913 patients who had experienced acute minor ischemic stroke (mean age: 65.1 years; 67.3% men; mean NIHSS score: 2.5). Rates of recurrent stroke, disability, and death were 13.2, 17.0, and 6.3% at 1 year, respectively. History of hypertension, ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, and atrial fibrillation were independent predictors of one-year stroke recurrence. Rate of 1 year all-cause death in patients with triple combined therapy in acute phase was 4.1%, whereas in patients with none was 14.5%. At 1 year, only half patients continued the secondary prevention medications.

CONCLUSIONS: Outcomes in individuals in China who had experienced acute minor stroke were unfavorable, underscoring the importance of early, sustained preventive therapy in this patient population. Combination of secondary prevention medication classes was associated with a lower risk of death.