Frequency of risk factors for stroke in young Pakistani population

Abstract

Background and Objective: There is paucity of data regarding risk factors of stroke in young Pakistanis. The objective of this study was to identify the frequency of risk factors for ischemic stroke in the young Pakistani population  Methods: This was a retrospective Cross sectional study conducted at Aziz Fatima Hospital Neurology outpatient’s department between January 2022 to April 2022.bAll patients presenting with an ischemic stroke within the past month and age between 20 and 49 years were included. Data was collected from patient notes using a table which listed the patient’s demographic information and risk factors. All the patients had appropriate investigations on site to look for cardiac and vessel abnormalities along with relevant blood tests. The results were then assessed using univariate analysis to divide patients according to age, gender and prevalence of risk factors.  Results: A total of 53 patient’s data was collected. The mean age was 39 years. The commonest risk factor was hypertension (58%). The other risk factors were ischemic heart disease (36%), diabetes mellitus (34%), dyslipidemia (26%), smoking (21%), obesity (19%), atrial fibrillation (2%) and vasculitis (2%). Positive family history of stroke was found in 26%.  Conclusion: Hypertension was the commonest risk factor for young age group under 50 years, followed by ischemic heart disease.  Our younger population also had a higher frequency of causes like diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and smoking.