Risk factors and outcome differences between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

The aim of the study was to justify the hypothesis that risk factors do not differ between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. This retrospective study included 1066 stroke patients. The prevalence of risk factors and hospital-based survival were compared between patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Data were retrieved from patient records. Statistical analysis was done by use of chi2-test and t-test for dependent samples. The group of hemorrhagic stroke consisted of 70 (47.9%) female and 76 (52.1%) male patients. The group of ischemic stroke included 450 (48.9%) female and 470 (51.1%) male patients. Ischemic stroke patients had a higher prevalence of hypertension (79% vs. 72%), atherosclerotic diseases (50% vs. 34%) and atrial fibrillation (15.5% vs. 4.2%), and were statistically significantly older (72.5 +/-10.4 vs. 65.7 +/- 12.8) than those with hemorrhagic stroke, however, fatal outcome was more common in the latter (26% vs. 17%). In conclusion, data analysis pointed to differences between hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke according to both risk factors and stroke outcome.