Epidemiological Profile of Stroke in Central Kerala

Background: There is a rising trend in the incidence of stroke among Keralites, but proper data regarding the same are scarce.To date, no study has been published delineating the epidemiological profile of stroke in Central Kerala harboring a populationof more than 5 million.Objectives: The objectives of the study were to characterize the clinical profile, risk factors, type, and etiology of stroke inCentral Kerala.Methodology: A prospective cohort study was conducted in the Department of General Medicine in Amala Institute of MedicalSciences, Thrissur, Kerala, from January 2014 to January 2015 that evaluated 464 patients admitted with a diagnosis of stroke.Based on clinical examination and brain computed tomography/magnetic resonance image findings, patients were classifiedinto ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke subtypes and enrolled.Results: Of the total 464 patients, 44.6% were female and 55.4% were male. A maximum amount of cases were observed inthe age group between 61 and 70 years. Among them, 63.6% of patients were hypertensive, 45.5% were diabetic, 12.7% hada cardiac disease, and 0.6% of patients had peripheral vascular disease. The incidence of hemorrhagic stroke was 27.8% andischemic stroke was 72.2%. Most of the ischemic strokes were due to large artery atherosclerosis.Conclusion: Our study has shown that systemic hypertension followed by diabetes mellitus was the prime risk factor contributingto stroke among Central Keralites. Tobacco use is widely prevalent among males in Central Kerala which could account forthe increasing incidence of stroke among males. There is an urgent need to improve the lifestyle of people, especially in theage group between 61 and 70 years who were the most susceptible to stroke by implementing proper monitoring and controlof modifiable risk factors.