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(Stroke. 1972;3:579.)
© 1972 American Heart Association, Inc.

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Survey of Stroke Epidemiology Studies

LEWIS H. KULLER M.D.; LEONARD P. COOK ; GARY D. FRIEDMAN M.D.¹

¹ Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205

The Committee on Criteria and Methods of the Epidemiological Council of the American Heart Association conducted a survey of epidemiological studies of stroke. A questionnaire was sent to investigators who were involved in stroke epidemiological research. Forty studies have been reviewed.

Stroke epidemiological studies include a wide range of populations and geographic areas of the United States. Of the 12 prospective studies only five were primarily stroke-oriented, while the remaining initially involved the study of coronary artery disease.

Relatively few stroke studies identify cases by clinical examination at the time of the stroke; most depend on examination sometime after the stroke, review of hospital records, physician's reports and patient interviews. In relatively few of the studies are the cases being examined by a neurologist.

There is a need for better methods of stroke-case ascertainment, for standardized diagnostic techniques that can be used in field studies, and for the evaluation of specific disabilities following a stroke.

Key Words: diagnostic procedures • neurological examination • transient ischemic attacks • duration of stroke