Our primary goal is to study temporal trends in the incidence rate, causes, treatment, and outcome of stroke among a large biracial metropolitan population of 1,349,351, of whom 215,611 (15%) are black (2000 Census). Such data are critical for the planning, intervention, and evaluation of public health efforts to decrease the mortality and morbidity due to stroke in the United States.

For 1/1/2005 to 12/31/2005, we will identify every hospitalized or autopsied stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) at all 17 regional hospitals. We will also estimate the number of non-hospitalized strokes and TIAs by screening for potential cases at 143 outpatient sites throughout five counties in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. We plan to identify and abstract detailed information from the medical record for every potential case. These results will be compared with data from all stroke patients identified by the same methodology used during 1993-94 and 1999 as well as with cases of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) identified during 1988.

In addition, we will interview 500 ischemic stroke patients and/or their families, to obtain detailed information including demographic information, functional outcome and quality of life, access to and type of rehabilitation therapy, social support, caregiver availability and health status, access to post-hospital care, health insurance status, current health status, medications, prior risk factors, and knowledge about stroke signs and symptoms. We will also obtain genetic material via a blood sample.