Background and Purpose-The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, recurrence, and long-term survival rates of ischemic stroke subtypes by a mechanism-based classification scheme (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment, or TOAST). Methods-We identified all 583 residents of the city of Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany, with a first ischemic stroke between 1994 and 1998. Multiple overlapping sources of information were used to ensure completeness of case ascertainment. The cause of ischemic stroke was classified according to the TOAST criteria. Patients were followed up at 3 months and 1 and 2 years after stroke onset. Results-The age-standardized incidence rates for the European population (per 100 000) regarding ischemic stroke subtypes were as follows: cardioembolism, 30.2 (95% CI 25.6 to 35.7); small-artery occlusion, 25.8 (95% CI 21.5 to 30.9); and large-artery atherosclerosis, 15.3 (95% CI 12 to 19.3). When age-adjusted to the European population, the incidence rate for large-artery atherosclerosis was more than twice as high for men than for women (23.6/100 000 versus 9.2/100 000). Two years after onset, patients in the small-artery occlusion subgroup were 3 times more likely to be alive than those with cardioembolism. Ischemic stroke subtype according to the TOAST criteria was a significant predictor for long-term survival, whereas subtype was not a significant predictor of long-term recurrence up to 2 years, both before and after adjustment for age and sex. Conclusions-Epidemiological

BackgroundHeart failure is a major and growing medical and economic problem worldwide as 1–2% of the healthcare budget are spent for heart failure. The prevalence of heart failure has increased over the past decades and it is expected that there will be further raise due to the higher proportion of elderly in the western societies. In this context cost-of-illness studies can significantly contribute to a better understanding of the drivers and problems which lead to the increasing costs in heart failure.The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of published cost-of-illness studies related to heart failure to highlight the increasing cost impact of heart failure.MethodsA systematic review was conducted from 2004 to 2016 to identify cost-of-illness studies related to heart failure, searching PubMed (Medline), Cochrane, Science Direct (Embase), Scopus and CRD York Database.ResultsOf the total of 16 studies identified, 11 studies reported prevalence-based estimates, 2 studies focused on incidence-based data and 3 articles presented both types of cost data. A large variation concerning cost components and estimates can be noted. Only three studies estimated indirect costs. Most of the included studies have shown that the costs for hospital admission are the most expensive cost element. Estimates for annual prevalence-based costs for heart failure patients range from $868 for South Korea to $25,532 for Germany. The lifetime costs for heart failure patients have been estimated to $126.819 per patient.ConclusionsOur review highlights the considerable and growing economic burden of heart failure on the health care systems. The cost-of-illness studies included in this review show large variations in methodology used and the cost results vary consequently. High quality data from cost-of-illness studies with a robust methodology applied can inform policy makers about the major cost drivers of heart failure and can be used as the basis of further economic evaluations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12872-018-0815-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background and Purpose —In Germany, basic data on stroke morbidity are lacking. If a population-based register in former East Germany is excluded, only routine mortality statistics have thus far provided information on epidemiology of stroke. Therefore, a population-based register of stroke was set up in Southern Germany to determine incidence and case fatality in a defined German population. Methods —The Erlangen Stroke Project (ESPro) is a prospective community-based study among the 101 450 residents of the city of Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany. Standard definitions and overlapping case-finding methods were used to identify all cases of first-ever stroke in all age-groups, occurring in the 2 years of registration (April 1, 1994, to March 31, 1996). All identified cases of first-ever strokes were followed up at 3 and 12 months from onset. Results —During 2 years of registration, 354 first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes (FELS) were registered. The diagnosis and stroke type were confirmed by CT scan in 95% of cases. Fifty-one percent of all FELS occurred in the age group ≥75 years of age. The crude annual incidence rate was 1.74 per 1000 (1.47 for men and 2.01 for women). After age-adjustment to the European population, the incidence rate was 1.34 per 1000 (1.48 for men and 1.25 for women). The annual crude incidence rate of cerebral infarction was 1.37/1000, intracerebral hemorrhage 0.24/1000, subarachnoid hemorrhage 0.06/1000, and unspecified stroke 0.08/1000. Overall case fatality at 28 days was 19.4%, at 3 months it was 28.5%, and at 1 year 37.3%. Conclusions —The first prospective community-based stroke register including all age groups in Germany revealed incidence rates of stroke similar to those reported from other population-based studies in western industrialized countries, but lower than that observed in former East Germany.

Background and Purpose-Estimates of risk of stroke recurrence are widely variable and focused on the shortterm. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled cumulative risk of stroke recurrence. Methods-Studies reporting cumulative risk of recurrence after first-ever stroke were identified using electronic databases and by manually searching relevant journals and conference abstracts. Overall cumulative risks of stroke recurrence at 30 days and 1, 5, and 10 years after first stroke were calculated, and analyses for heterogeneity were conducted. A Weibull model was fitted to the risk of stroke recurrence of the individual studies and pooled estimates were calculated with 95% CI. Results-Sixteen studies were identified, of which 13 studies reported cumulative risk of stroke recurrence in 9115survivors. The pooled cumulative risk was 3.1% (95% CI, 1.7-4.4) at 30 days, 11.1% (95% CI, 9.0 -13.3) at 1 year, 26.4% (95% CI, 20.1-32.8) at 5 years, and 39.2% (95% CI, 27.2-51.2) at 10 years after initial stroke. Substantial heterogeneity was found at all time points. This study also demonstrates a temporal reduction in 5-year risk of stroke recurrence from 32% to 16.2% across the studies. Conclusions-The cumulative risk of recurrence varies greatly up to 10 years. This may be explained by differences in case mix and changes in secondary prevention over time However, methodological differences are likely to play an important role and consensus on definitions would improve future comparability of estimates and characterization of groups of stroke survivors at increased risk of recurrence. (Stroke. 2011;42:1489-1494.)Key Words: frequency Ⅲ predictors Ⅲ recurrence Ⅲ stroke P atients surviving an initial stroke are known to be at significantly increased risk for further strokes compared to the general population. 1 However, studies show considerable variation in the estimation of risk of stroke recurrence in both the early years and in the long-term after first stroke. 2 For example, the cumulative risk of stroke recurrence up to 5 years after initial stroke has been reported in population-based studies as 19% in Manhattan, 29% in Rochester, 30% in Oxfordshire, and 32% in Perth. [3][4][5][6] Accurate identification of the time at which stroke survivors are at increased risk for stroke recurrence is important for modifiable risk factors to target and to help reduce the risk of recurrence occurring. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to estimate the pooled cumulative risk of stroke recurrence at time points ranging from 30 days to 10 years after first-ever stroke. Materials and Methods Search Strategy and Selection CriteriaThis review included studies from hospital-based or communitybased stroke registers reporting the risk of stroke recurrence at any time point after first-ever stroke irrespective of study design and setting or language. Ovid Medline (1950 -November 2009), EMBASE (1950 -November 2009, and the Web of Science were searched using both medical subject heading terms ...