Decline in Stroke Incidence Rates: Cause for Cautious Optimism

The decline is attributable largely to lower incidence in elders, whereas mortality but not incidence has declined in younger patients.

Over the past three decades, several modalities have been shown to reduce risk for stroke, including antihypertensive therapy, statins, smoking cessation, and lifestyle modification. If these measures are being used in the community, then one would expect declining rates of stroke incidence. Investigators for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study longitudinally followed stroke-free participants from four geographic regions for more than 2 decades. The investigators tracked 14,357 participants with a mean age of 54.1 years at the first study visit (between 1987 and 1989). Participants were followed for a maximum of 25 years, with 282,097 person-years of follow-up overall. The researchers found a decrease in age-adjusted stroke…

Reviewing Author

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Decline in Stroke Incidence Rates: Cause for Cautious Optimism

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Reviewing Author