An average attenuation <50 HU of the most hyperattenuating hyperdense parenchymal lesion on immediate post-procedural CT scan was very specific for differentiating contrast extravasation from intraparenchymal hemorrhage in acute ischemic stroke patients after endovascular treatment.

Background and Purpose: Asian Indians are one of the largest groups of Asians living in the United States. Due to a paucity of data, we performed this study to better characterize the stroke mortality and risk factors among Asian Indians in the United States. Methods: Analysis of the U.S. multiple-cause-of-death files for 2004 to 2009 and National Health and Interview Survey (2004-2005 and 2009-2010) were analyzed. Age-adjusted fatal stroke incidence, stroke rate ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI), and average annual percentage change over 5 years were also calculated. Results: The annual incidence of fatal strokes was lowest among Asian Indians (194 per 100,000) followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives (207 per 100,000), Whites (282 per 100,000) and African Americans (362 per 100,000). Compared with Whites, the stroke rate ratio was 0.7(95% CI 0.5-0.8) for Asian Indians. Significantly lower rates of hypertension and cigarette smoking among Asian Indians in 2004-2005 (compared with whites) explained the lower rates of fatal stroke. The average annual percentage change over 5 years was 12.2%, -0.6%, -2.6%, and -2.6% Asian Indians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Whites, and African Americans, respectively. The increase in stroke mortality among Asian Indians was observed despite lower rates of hypertension and cigarette smoking in 2009-2010. Conclusions: The paradoxical increase in stroke mortality among Asian Indians over the last 5 years (in contrast to other population subsets) is concerning. A better understanding of the predisposing factors for the observed increase is required through targeted efforts.

Background: Patients on long term warfarin treatment can have cerebral ischemic events despite therapeutic levels. We sought to determine unique patient attributes that result in ischemic events on therapeutic warfarin treatment. Methods: We reviewed the medical records and imaging data of consecutive patients with cerebral ischemic events who were on long term warfarin treatment over a 4 year period. We stratified the patients based on international normalized ratio (2.0-3.0 versus <2.0) and compared the demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups of patients. Results: A total of 163 patients (mean age±SD; 77.3 ± 11.2) on long term warfarin treatment were admitted with cerebral ischemic events (97 ischemic strokes and 40 transient ischemic attacks). The mean age was not different between patients who were sub therapeutic and therapeutic on warfarin (78.2 ±11.6 versus 77.5±10.5, p=0.7). The proportion of patients with hypertension (87.2% versus 84.0%, p=0.6), diabetes mellitus (44.2% versus 50.0 %, p=0.5), and cigarette smoking (7.0% versus 6.0%, p=0.8), was similar between the two groups. Patients who were therapeutic on warfarin were more likely to have large vessel atherosclerosis (8.0% versus 2.3 %, p=0.1) and small vessel disease (2.0% versus 1.2 %, p=0.6) and less likely to have atrial fibrillation (66.0% versus 77.5%, p=0.2) as the underlying etiologies for ischemic events. IV alteplase was used in 5 and none of patients who were sub therapeutic and therapeutic on warfarin, respectively. Conclusions: Patients who have concurrent predisposing factors appear to be at risk for cerebral ischemic events despite therapeutic warfarin treatment and concomitant preventive strategies should be evaluated.

Background: The number of acute ischemic stroke patients who are on both aspirin and clopidogrel treatment at time of acute ischemic event is increasing. There is limited data regarding the safety and efficacy of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment in such patients. Methods: We reviewed the medical records and imaging data of consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke who received IV rt-PA within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. We stratified the patients based on active regular use of antiplatelet medications: monotherapy (aspirin or clopidogrel), combination therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel), and no therapy and compared the rates of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), neurological improvement (≥4 points in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS], and favorable outcome (modified Rankin scale [mRS] 0-1) at discharge between the three groups. Results: A total of 88 acute ischemic stroke patients (mean age±SD; 69.88 ±15) were treated with IV rt-PA within the study duration. Of the 88 patients 45 (50.6%), 37 (41.6%), and 52 (58.4) were on monotherapy, combination therapy, or no therapy at time of presentation. The proportion of patients who developed symptomatic ICHs were similar (p=0.8) in monotherapy, combination therapy, and no therapy groups (3.3%, 0.0%, and 4.1%, respectively). The rates of neurological improvement were greater in patients on monotherapy (20%) (p=0.03) followed by combination therapy (11.1%), and no therapy groups (2.0%). There was no significant reduction in the rate of favorable outcome at discharge among patients on combination treatment compared with no treatment (odds ratio 0.8 , 95% confidence interval 0.4-1.8 ) after adjusting for age and initial NIHSS score strata (<10, 10-19, and ≥20). Conclusions: Compared with patients on no antiplatelet treatment, acute ischemic stroke patients who are actively using aspirin and clopidogrel appear to have similar risks and benefits with IV rt-PA treatment.

BACKGROUND: The risk of ischemic stroke during periods of warfarin discontinuation for surgical procedures is recognized nut not well characterized. We performed this study to quantitate the risk of ischemic stroke associated with strial fibrillation during periods of warfarin discontinuation. METHODS: We evaluated the association of warfarin discontinuation for procedure with the incidence of ischemic stroke using pooled repeated measures and Cox proportional hazards analyses during follow-up after adjusting for age, gender, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, and study period in a cohort of A total of 4060 patients were randomized into the AFFIRM study. Patients enrolled in the study had AF plus at least one other risk factor for stroke or death: age >65 yrs, systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, transient ischemic attack, prior stroke, left atrium 50+ mm, left ventricular fractional shortening <25%, or left ventricular ejection fraction <40%. RESULTS: Warfarin discontinuation for procedure occurred in 17 (0.5%) of the 11,116 person observations with a mean follow-up period of 9.9+/-1.0 years. The rate of ischemic stroke was higher among participant with warfarin discontinuation (17 of 3313 person observations versus 209 of 36505 person observations, p=0.047). Warfarin discontinuation was associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke (relative risk [RR], 2.2; 95% CI, 0.5 to 9.3). among the 11,802 person observations after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS: The risk associated with discontinuation of warfarin for procedures must be recognized and considered in the risk benefit analysis of any procedure.