Brain infarction risk factors in Black New York city stroke patients

Abstract

Of 527 consecutive stroke patients at Harlem Hospital, 22 per cent had had a previous stroke; 57 per cent had hypertension; 28 per cent had diabetes mellitus; 24 per cent had advanced heart disease; 18 per cent had none of these conditions identified. These proportions match those from white series, except for the low prevalence of heart disease, which was recorded only in clinically symptomatic stages. When the series was divided in half by age, diabetes, heart disease and previous stroke were each more common in patients 65 and older. Hypertension was significantly ( p < 0.02) less frequent. The Health Examination Survey estimated that 52 per cent of Blacks aged 65–74 and 60 per cent of those aged 75–79 are hypertensive. In Harlem stroke patients, by contrast, the prevalence of hypertension at ages 65–74 was 48 per cent. It fell to 37 per cent for ages 75 and over. In more aged patients, hypertension seemed to be less common than estimates for the general black population would predict. In this population, hypertension beyond age 65 may not be associated with the increased risk of stroke it carries earlier.