Risk of major heart complications up shortly following stroke

(HealthDay)—Ischemic stroke is independently associated with increased risk of incident poststroke major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in both men and women, according to a study published in the February issue of Stroke.

Luciano A. Sposato, M.D., from Western University in London, Canada, and colleagues investigated sex-specific risks of incident MACE (acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, incident coronary artery disease, coronary revascularization procedures, incident heart failure, or cardiovascular death) in a heart disease-free population-based cohort. Analysis included 21,931 patients (≥66 years) with first-ever ischemic stroke (2002 to 2012) and 71,696 propensity-matched individuals without stroke.

The researchers found that first-ever ischemic stroke was associated with increased risk of incident MACE in both sexes. The risk was time-dependent, with highest risk seen within 30 days (women: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 25.1; men: aHR, 23.4). Risk of MACE decreased, but remained significant, between 31 and 90 days (women: aHR, 4.8; men: aHR, 4.2) and 91 to 365 days (women: aHR, 2.1; men: aHR, 2.0).

"This shows that after taking risk factors into consideration, having experienced a recent stroke was independently associated with the incidence of major adverse cardiac events," Sposato said in a statement. "This leads us to believe that there are underlying mechanisms linked to stroke that may be causing heart disease."