title: Prevalence of stroke in systolic heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heart disease is a major independent risk factor for stroke, ranking third after age and hypertension. Heart failure (HF) patient constitutes an important subgroup of patients with stroke, because of their poor outcome and high rates of mortality and stroke recurrence. We examined the prevalence of stroke in patients with heart failure from 3 different geographic regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We compared the prevalence of self-reported history of stroke in participants with systolic HF from 3 different geographic regions (Houma, LA; Miami, FL; and Tbilisi, Georgia, Eastern Europe). We examined the prevalence of stroke/adjusting for patient demographic and health characteristics. Stroke prevalence was reported by 79 (7.8%) of 1017 participants from Louisiana, 51 (9.2%) of 556 participants from Florida, and 5 (1.3%) of 383 participants from Georgia. After multivariable adjustment, the prevalence of stroke was significantly lower in Georgia compared to Florida and Louisiana sites. Patients on β-blocker medication were 3.58 times (95% CI 1.96-6.55) more likely to report stroke compared to those without β-blockers (×2 = 19.5, P ≤ .0001). There were significantly fewer participants on β-blockers from Georgia (7%) compared to participants from Florida (87%) and Louisiana (94%; (×2 = 24.3, P<.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported stroke prevalence in participants with HF was not consistent among the 3 sites. These differences in prevalence may in part be explained by the lower reported use of β-blockers in the Georgia site. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether β-blockers increase the risk of stroke in HF population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA. khebert1@gmail.com
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaif
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tamariz
authors.forename: Ilia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gogichaishvili
authors.forename: Nino
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nozadze
authors.forename: Maria Carolina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Lee M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Arcement
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D005846:Georgia (Republic) / Q000453:epidemiology; D054143:Heart Failure, Systolic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists