One-year Survival and Related Factors in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Changes in the survival rate could be due to changes in mortality rates and changes in the levels of risk factors. This study aimed to determine the most important risk factors affecting the survival of patients with stroke in Shahroud. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 380 patients with ischemic stroke were followed-up for one year after the stroke. Information on patients was collected through hospital records, interviews, and in the case of death, through interviewing the family of the deceased. Then, the data were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox semi-parametric model at the significance level of 0.05 with SPSS 21 and Stata 12. Results: The mean age of patients was 63±6.03. Among the patients, 237 (62.4%) were men. Using the Kaplan–Meier method, survival rates of one month, six months, and one year were, respectively, 98.7, 80.3, and 78.4. Age, number of hospitalizations,(GCS) level of consciousness, hypertension, diabetes, HLP, IHD, HDL, FBS, and smoking show significant correlations with survival (p<0.001). Based on the Cox regression model with an age above 70 years, hypertension, diabetes, and an under 13 level of consciousness, the increase in the risk of death, respectively, was 2.85, 2.86, 6.93, and 2.11 times higher in patients with ischemic stroke. Conclusions: Since the risk increases during the months following the stroke, it is necessary to follow up with patients so that they visit their doctors based on appointments