Improving Early Prevention of Stroke following Stroke Warning Events

Institution:
Radcliffe Infirmary, University of Oxford
Principal Investigator:
Professor Peter Rothwell
Region: South East
Grant value: £116,955 over 36 months
Start date: January 2005
Status: ongoing

Approximately 30 per cent of strokes are preceded by a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), or 'mini-stroke', and most subsequent strokes occur during the first few days after the initial warning event. Urgent preventative treatment following these initial warnings could avoid many thousands of strokes in the UK each year. However, the delays in assessing stroke following warning events, and in turn initiating preventative treatment, are too long.

In pilot studies of a daily stroke prevention clinic the researchers found that delays to assessment were significant, partly due to delays on the part of patients in seeking medical attention. Education is therefore required to enable the public to recognise the symptoms of TIA and minor stroke, and to encourage people to seek medical attention immediately.

To design an effective education program the researchers will investigate the reasons why some patients do not seek medical advice immediately, if at all. They aim to determine whether such reasons are patient related or event related. They also intend to investigate the factors that are linked with a high risk of stroke in the first week after a TIA or minor stoke. To provide this information they aim to study 750 patients who have had a TIA or mini-stroke in the Oxford Vascular Study.

Scientific Title: Development and independent testing of tools to improve the effectiveness of early prevention after TIA or minor stroke

21/06/05 Press Release - strokes could be predicted and prevented by a new test

PowerPoint presentation of this research project (237 kb)

This presentation was presented by the researchers at The Stroke Association Scientific Conference in September 2005.

Classification:
Prevention, Information, Education, Epidemiology

Publications:

Rothwell P, Giles M, Flossmann E, Lovelock C, Redgrave J, Warlow C, Mehta Z. A simple tool to identify individuals at high early risk of stroke after a transient ischaemic attack: the ABCD score. The Lancet 2005; 366:29-36.