Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Parametric perfusion imaging with contrast-enhanced ultrasound in acute ischemic stroke.
Color-coded perfusion maps can be calculated from ultrasound harmonic gray-scale imaging data after ultrasound contrast agent bolus injection to analyze brain tissue perfusion. First reports indicate that this method can display cerebral perfusion deficits in acute ischemic stroke. We performed a prospective patient study to evaluate this approach. ⋯ With PHI, it is possible to display cerebral perfusion deficits in acute ischemic stroke. PHI yields additional information on the perfusion state of the human brain compared with extracranial and transcranial color-coded duplex sonography.
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Excess mortality resulting from stroke is an important reason why blacks have higher age-adjusted mortality rates than whites. This observation has 2 possible explanations: Strokes occur more commonly among blacks or blacks have higher mortality rates after stroke. Our population-based epidemiological study is set in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region of 1.31 million people, which is representative of the US white and black populations with regard to many demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. ⋯ Excess stroke-related mortality in blacks is due to higher stroke incidence rates, particularly in the young and middle-aged. This excess burden of stroke incidence among blacks represents one of the most serious public health problems facing the United States.