Cerebrovascular disease in Kuwait: a descriptive study

ABSTRACT

To assess the problem of cerebrovascular disease [CBVD] in Kuwait [one] data from the annual reports 1972/81 were analysed; [two] 1203 medical records of discharged patients [survived and died] during a 2-year period [1983/84] were studied; and [three] a cross-sectional study of 166 patients was carried out. Over the period 1972 to 1981 the mortality due to CBVD or to hypertensive disease [which is of a similar order] did not show any major change. The mortality among males and among Kuwaitis was higher than among women and non-kuwaitis. A cute but ill-defined CBVD was the most frequent final diagnosis of discharged [survived and died] patients. The seasonal peak of the admission of CBVD cases was from January to March. Significantly more female patients and non-kuwaitis were found in those aged 60 or more years. The clinical manifestations of CBVD in the follow-up patients showed that 50% of patients were fully conscious on admission, 51.2% had hemiplegia, 25.3% had speech deficits. Only 10.2% had a previous attack of CBVD, 36.7% had hypertension and 21.7% had diabetes mellitus