Stroke Mimics: A five-year follow-up study from the Qatar Stroke Database

Abstract Background and purpose Mimics comprise a third of patients presenting with an acute stroke. There is limited information on their natural history. Methods We evaluate long term major cardiovascular events (MACE) in stroke mimics in a prospective database from Qatar. Results Between Feb 2014 and Jan 2019, 481 patients (male: 238; female: 243) mean age 57.5 years (±18.0), with 399 (83%) medical mimics and 82 (17%) functional mimics were evaluated. Imaging revealed previous old stroke in 26.6% and small vessel disease in 5%. MACE occurred in 57 (11.9%) and there were 31 deaths (6.4%) with majority of deaths (5.6%) from cardiovascular causes. MACE was significantly higher in patients with previous stroke, p  Conclusion The occurrence of MACE during follow-up suggests that patients with existing vascular disease require aggressive management of vascular risk factors.