Poststroke Epilepsy Is Associated With a High Mortality After a Stroke at Young Age: Follow-Up of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke Patients and Unelucidated Risk Factor Evaluation Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Poststroke epilepsy is a common complication after a young stroke. We investigated the association between poststroke epilepsy and mortality. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study among 631 patients with a first-ever transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke, aged 18 to 50 years. Survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard analysis were used to estimate cumulative mortality and hazard ratios for patients with and without epilepsy. RESULTS: After mean follow-up of 12.5 years (SD 8.6), 76 (12.0%) developed poststroke epilepsy. Case fatality was 27.4% for patients with poststroke epilepsy and 2.1% for those without. Poststroke epilepsy was associated with 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-14.0) and long-term mortality (hazard ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.9). CONCLUSIONS: Epilepsy is a common problem after a young stroke and is associated with an increased short-term and long-term mortality.