A long-term look at Medicare patients shows that Black patients who have an ischemic stroke (blocked blood flow to the brain) die at a higher rate than white patients, even after accounting for preexisting health conditions, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021.
“So much of what we know is limited to the early or acute phase—the first two weeks after a stroke,” said lead study author Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut. “When you have a stroke, it’s not just about the acute event, it’s about the early recovery period to secondary prevention visits that affect your long-term chances of survival.”