title: [Clinical features and prognosis of patients with chronic cerebrovascular disease (ICBAR study)].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) are a group with a very high cardiovascular risk, in addition to that arising from their own vascular pathology, probably due to an inadequate control of risk factors and owing to the presence of comorbidities.
  
  
  METHODS
  This research consisted in a multi-centre study involving the collaboration of 34 primary care physicians and recording of the features of 473 patients with a previous history of a CVD event that required hospitalisation. After a clinical follow-up of the cohort, hospital readmissions, mortality and causes were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of patients (52% males) was 75 ± 10 years and the most prevalent risk factors were arterial hypertension (79%), dyslipidaemia (66%), obesity (43%) and diabetes (29%). Sixty-eight per cent of patients had been diagnosed with stroke and 32% with transient ischaemic attack. The mean amount of time elapsed since the first CVD event was 6.6 ± 5.5 years. Twenty-nine per cent of patients had a situation of dependence and only one third showed good blood pressure and lipid control. During a follow-up lasting 8.2 ± 2.3 months, 7.2% of patients suffered some kind of cardio-vascular event (death or hospitalisation), which independent determinants were found to be previous heart failure (hazard ratio, HR = 2.74; 95% confidence interval, CI 95% = 1.3-5.9); cardiomyopathy (HR = 3.32; CI 95% = 1.4-8.2); anaemia (HR = 3.09; CI 95% = 1.6-6.2); renal failure (HR = 2.4; CI 95% = 1.0-5.6); the situation of dependence (HR = 2.57; CI 95% = 1.3-5.7) and cardiovascular admissions over the past year (HR = 3.05; CI 95% = 1.5-5.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with CVD followed up in the area of primary care present a high prevalence of arterial hypertension and little is done to control it. Their prognosis is conditioned by cardiovascular comorbidities and sequelae of their cerebro-vascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clinico de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Espana. rafavidal@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vidal-Pérez
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Otero-Raviña
authors.forename: Jerónimo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Domínguez-López
authors.forename: Domingo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fabeiro-Romero
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gómez-Vázquez
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Blas-Abad
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Juiz-Crespo
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pastor-Benavent
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Moldes
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: José R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: González-Juanatey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors