Mei Yang, Ke-Ju Ju, Ping Chen, Ling-Ling Zhong

Department of Neuroloy, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huaian, Jiangsu, 223300, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Ling-Ling Zhong, Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 1 of Huanghe West Road, Huaiyin District, Huaian, Jiangsu, 223300, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13901405828, Email zll_zhonglingling@126.com

Objective: This study aimed to identify the characteristics and risk factors associated with stroke recurrence in a Chinese patient population and to assess the effectiveness of targeted interventions addressing common stroke risk factors to inform stroke health management strategies.
Methods: A total of 1072 stroke patients who were hospitalized in Huai’an First People’s Hospital from January 2018 to November 2020 were included in this study. Patients with recurrent stroke were assigned to the observation group (815 cases), while those experiencing a first-ever stroke were assigned to the control group (257 cases). The observation group received health intervention measures targeting the risk factors of stroke in the Chinese population. A one-year follow-up was conducted to compare the recurrence rates of stroke between the two groups. From November 2020 to February 2021, targeted health intervention measures were implemented for the patients who were hospitalized (ie, the intervention group). These intervention measures aimed to address modifiable risk factors and involved a one-year follow-up for the participants to assess the impact of the health intervention on stroke patients.
Results: The mean age of patients in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group. An increased recurrence rate was observed among those with a family history of diabetes. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the observation group engaged in regular physical exercise and adhered to a low-salt, low-fat diet compared to the control group. However, the prevalence of sleep-related snoring and sleep-disordered breathing was also significantly higher in the observation group. Additionally, the observation group had a significantly higher proportion of patients with a history of hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. After one year of follow-up, stroke recurrence was lower among those who had undergone targeted risk factor management, although the difference did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion: Comprehensive and targeted management of sleep-disordered breathing, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease may contribute to a reduction in stroke recurrence among individuals in China. However, further validation through multi-center studies with larger sample sizes is necessary to establish definitive conclusions.

Keywords: health management, recurrence, risk factors, secondary prevention, stroke