They also will document the three-month outcome and obtain blood from 500 of these patients in an attempt to identify genes that may predispose one to stroke. The goal of this study is to document the number of people who have strokes, along with the causes, treatment, and outcome of stroke in a large biracial metropolitan population. It is estimated that 3,000 people in five area counties in Ohio and Northern Kentucky will have a stroke each year.
Stroke is the country s leading cause of adult disability.
The initial clinical trial done at most area hospitals involved health professionals from several disciplines and revealed that t-PA can significantly reduce the brain damage caused by strokes if given within three hours of an attack. Now we will attempt to document every case of stroke admitted at 18 Greater Cincinnati hospitals for a full year. The stroke team will track the course of all stroke patients admitted in 1999 to see if specific treatments were given in the first three hours after the onset of the stroke, how the patients fared, and the extent of genetic predisposition for stroke among different races of people.