Type, causes, and prognosis of stroke recurrence in the province of Teruel, Spain. A 5-year analysis

Recurrent strokes are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Identification of the causes of recurrence and its treatment may play an essential role in the prevention of further strokes. The aim of our work is to analyze the type and causes of stroke recurrence in a 5-year period and to determine if recurrent stroke is of the same type as index stroke. In a retrospective study, we reviewed the clinical records and database of our hospitals and found a total of 1108 patients admitted because of primary stroke. The patients with recurrent stroke were selected for a comprehensive analysis. Age, vascular risk factors and fatality rates of these patients were compared with those obtained in recurrence-free patients. We identified 135 patients with recurrent stroke. The most frequent type of recurrence was large vessel atherothrombotic stroke followed by the cardioembolic or lacunar stroke. The major contributing factors were hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and cardiomyopathies. The fatality rate did not differ from the overall mortality by stroke in these years, but the majority of deaths occurred in long-term recurrences. The functional status was worse after recurrent stroke than after index stroke. Although any pattern of recurrence is possible, there is a major trend to occur in the same vascular territory by the same pathophysiologic mechanism. Recurrent stroke frequently carries a worse functional status than index stroke. In many patients, despite the appropriate treatment, stroke recurrence was an unavoidable consequence.