Ischemic stroke in young Asian women: risk factors, subtypes and outcome.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of our study was to describe risk factors, mechanisms and outcome of young Asian women with ischemic stroke.


METHODS
Twelve tertiary-care centers in 8 Asian countries participated. Women aged 15-45 years were included if they had an ischemic stroke supported by neuroimaging. Data on age, risk factor history, stroke mechanism and discharge status were collected.


RESULTS
A total of 958 subjects were included, their mean age was 34 years. Large-vessel thrombosis comprised 24%, cerebral venous thrombosis 21%, cardioembolism 19% and small-vessel thrombosis 15%. The stroke risk factors included hypertension (29%), diabetes (14%), pregnancy (11%), valvular heart disease (10%) and cigarette smoking (3%). Anemia was found in 42%, and mortality was 4%; at discharge, 17% had modified Rankin score (mRS) >4 and 83% mRS 0-3.


CONCLUSIONS
Unlike among Caucasians, large-vessel thrombosis, cerebral venous thrombosis and cardioembolism are common among young Asian women with stroke. A high proportion are pregnancy-related. More studies are needed.
Wasay
Mohammad
M
Department of Medicine/Neurology, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road , Karachi, Pakistan. mohammad.wasay@aku.edu
Kaul
Subhash
S
Menon
Bindu
B
Venketasubramanian
Narayanaswamy
N
Gunaratne
Padma
P
Khalifa
Ahmed
A
Poungvarin
Niphon
N
Saadatnia
Mohammad
M
Gan
Robert Ngo
RN
Dai
Alper
A
Mehndiratta
M M
MM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D020766:Intracranial Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult