Issue 156 Item 3 Hypertension and Diabetes Cause Dramatic Increase in Stroke Hos

Hypertension, with diabetes, has contributed to a 39.5% increase in stroke hospitalizations in South Carolina from 1991 to 2000. South Carolina is an important region for the epidemiological study of stroke because it has the highest rate of cardiovascular disease in the United States, according to Dr. Daniel T. Lackland of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston. With regards to stroke risk, “a 45-year-old male in the Southeast is like a 65-year-old in Minnesota,” he said.

The researchers found that secondary diagnoses of hypertension and diabetes in patients discharged after stroke increased 79% and 38%, respectively, over the 10-year period. Dr. Lackland presented his study at the meeting of the American Society of Hypertension last Saturday.

One reason for this observation is the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in the South. “In clinical trials we can control blood pressure in 90% of the people. In our population, it’s less than one in four,” Dr. Lackland noted.

The researchers conducted the study by analyzing all hospitalizations in South Carolina from 1991 to 2000, including discharges from military and veteran’s administration institutions. All primary diagnoses of stroke were included.

The data were analyzed separately for patients up to 50 years old and for those over 50, and for the year 2000, the most recent year for which data were available. The researchers found that stroke hospitalization rates increased 32.8% for patients under 50, compared with 40.1% for those 50 and older. In 2000, secondary diagnoses of hypertension were associated with 50.2% of stroke discharges and secondary diagnoses of diabetes with 29.7%.

The number of hospitalizations for stroke is a more sensitive indicator of the changing incidence of stroke over time than mortality, Dr. Lackland said, because the technology for keeping stroke patients alive keeps improving. “Blood pressure control is much more cost-effective, if you want to look at it that way, than paying for hospitalization,” he added.

================================

Cholestech GDX™ A1C Testing System With Instant Results CLIA-waived – A1C results in 5 minutes – Increased office revenue– NGSP-certified – Reimbursable. Find out More!