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During the first 30 days,129(19%)patients died.Patients who survived at least 30 days after a first-ever stroke thereafter had an average annual risk of death of 9.1%,2.3-fold the risk in people from the general population.Although the absolute(about 15%)and relative(about threefold) risks of death were highest in these 30-day survivors over the first year after the stroke,they were at increased risk of dying over the next few years(range of relative risk for individual years,1.1-2.9).Predictably, older patients had a worse absolute survival but,relative to the general population,stroke also increased the relative risk of dying in younger patients.During the first 30 days stroke accounts for most deaths;after this time nonstroke cardiovascular disease becomes increasingly important and is the most common cause of death after the first year.These data highlight the importance of long-term secondary prevention of vascular events in stroke patients,targeted as much at the cardiovascular as at the cerebrovascular circulation. |
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