Clinical question: What is the prognosis of patients who have a TIA or minor stroke?
Background: Prior studies had estimated the risk in the three months following a TIA or minor stroke of having a stroke or acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as 12% to 20%, but this may not reflect the risk of modern patients receiving the current standards of care.
Study design: Prospective observational registry of patients with recent TIA or minor stroke.
Setting: International, including 21 countries.
Synopsis: Adults with recent TIA or minor stroke were included in this multi-center, international registry, and one-year outcomes were reported. At one year, the Kaplan-Meier estimated event rate for the combined outcome of stroke, ACS, or death from cardiovascular causes was 6.2%. The risk of the cardiovascular events was found to be lower than previously reported, suggesting an improvement in outcomes with current interventions. Elevated ABCD2 score, infarction seen on brain imaging, and large-artery atherosclerosis were each associated with higher risk.
Bottom line: Elevated ABCD2 score, brain imaging findings, and large-artery atherosclerosis suggest increased risk for recurrent stroke.
Citation: Amarenco P, Lavallée PC, Labreuche J, et al. One-year risk of stroke after transient ischemic attack or minor stroke. N Engl J Med. 2016;374(16):1533-1542.
