In-Hospital Mortality From Cerebrovascular Disease

Introduction Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is the second most common cause of death. Despite the advances made in recent years with the introduction of specific treatment units and thrombolytics, CVD remains the leading cause of neurological hospitalization and adult disability. Objective Our objective is to determine the frequency and causes of early mortality, during hospitalization, of patients with acute CVD. Methods We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study of 704 patients treated for acute CVD at the Neurology Service of the Hospital in Curitiba, Brazil, over a period of three years, to whom the CVD Program protocol was applied. We checked the conditions at hospital discharge, obtaining the mortality rate and its causes. Results We studied 463 men and 241 women, over 14 years of age with an average of 64 years; 57 patients died. Of the 614 with ischemic CVD, nine males and four females died, establishing a mortality rate of 1.9%. Of the 90 patients with hemorrhagic CVD, 44 died: 26 male and 18 female. The main causes of death were arrhythmias, pneumonia with acute respiratory failure, acute myocardial infarction, and multiple organ failure. Conclusion We found no relationship between mortality and specific risk factors, except for age over 65 years. The low rate of deaths obtained in ischemic stroke reflects the multidisciplinary work involved in caring for patients with cerebrovascular disease in our center, which allows us to obtain results as low in mortality as those described in the literature.