A notable disparity in long-term death rates after ischemic stroke suggests that clinicians may need to take a closer look at the post-stroke recovery period — especially during the first year, researchers say.
Black Medicare recipients who have survived an ischemic stroke are 4% more likely to die within the next decade than their peers of other races, a new study has found.
Investigators from the Yale School of Public Health analyzed data from 740,000 Medicare beneficiaries who were hospitalized for ischemic stroke between 2005 and 2007, and then followed patient health outcomes for 10 years.
After adjusting for pre-existing health conditions, the overall death rate was about 75%, with Black beneficiaries slightly higher, at 76%. In contrast, stroke mortality risk was about 8% lower for white and other races than for Blacks.
In fact, the death rate for Black patients started to climb slightly within the year following the stroke when compared with other races, the data revealed. These differences continued over the decade, reported epidemiologist Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., MPH.
Much focus has been placed on the stroke event itself, but clinicians need to take a closer look at the recovery period and think about “how we can optimize secondary prevention and post-stroke care for everybody,” Lichtman said.
The study was presented last week at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021.
