Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Cerebral Ischemia and Ischemic Heart Diseases: Similarities and Differences

Cerebral ischemia and ischemic heart diseases, common entities nowadays, are the main manifestation of circulatory diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, followed by stroke, represent the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Both entities share risk factors, pathophisiology and etiologic aspects by means of a main common mechanism, atherosclerosis. However, each entity has its own particularities. Ischemic stroke shows a variety of pathogenic mechanisms not present in ischemic heart disease. An ischemic stroke increases the risk of suffering a coronary heart disease, and viceversa. The aim of this chapter is to review data on epidemiology, pathophisiology and risk factors for both entities, considering the differences and similarities that could be found in between them. We discuss traditional risk factors, obtained from epidemiological data, and also some novel ones, such as hyperhomocisteinemia or sleep apnea. We separate risk factors, as clasically, in two groups: nonmodifiables, which includes age, sex, or ethnicity, and modifiables, including hypertension, dyslipidemia or diabetis, in order to discuss the role of each factor in both ischemic events, ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease.