• Jassim Al Suwaidi, Khalid Al Habib, Nidal Asaad, Rajvir Singh, Ahmad Hersi, Husam Al Falaeh, Shukri Al Saif, Ahmed Al-Motarreb, Wael Almahmeed, Kadhim Sulaiman, Haitham Amin, Jawad Al-Lawati, Norah Q Al-Sagheer, Alawi A Alsheikh-Ali, and Amar M Salam.
• Department of Cardiology, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar. jalsuwaidi@hotmail.com
• Bmc Cardiovasc Disor. 2012 Jan 1;12:64.

BackgroundStroke is a potential complication of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence, risk factors predisposing to stroke, in-hospital and 1-year mortality among patients presenting with ACS in the Middle East.MethodsFor a period of 9 months in 2008 to 2009, 7,930 consecutive ACS patients were enrolled from 65 hospitals in 6 Middle East countries.ResultsThe prevalence of in-hospital stroke following ACS was 0.70%. Most cases were ST segment elevation MI-related (STEMI) and ischemic stroke in nature. Patients with in-hospital stroke were 5 years older than patients without stroke and were more likely to have hypertension (66% vs. 47.6%, P = 0.001). There were no differences between the two groups in regards to gender, other cardiovascular risk factors, or prior cardiovascular disease. Patients with stroke were more likely to present with atypical symptoms, advanced Killip class and less likely to be treated with evidence-based therapies. Independent predictors of stroke were hypertension, advanced killip class, ACS type -STEMI and cardiogenic shock. Stroke was associated with increased risk of in-hospital (39.3% vs. 4.3%) and one-year mortality (52% vs. 12.3%).ConclusionThere is low incidence of in-hospital stroke in Middle-Eastern patients presenting with ACS but with very high in-hospital and one-year mortality rates. Stroke patients were less likely to be appropriately treated with evidence-based therapy. Future work should be focused on reducing the risk and improving the outcome of this devastating complication.

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