A study of mortality in patients with acute cerebrovascular pathology in the Castellon General Hospital

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the hospital death rate caused by acute cardiovascular disorder and their factors conducted. METHODS: We made a retrospective review of all patients suffering from this pathology who had gone into the Casualty Ward of the Castellon General Hospital in the course of 1991: we also looked for all patients with acute cardiovascular disorder who had died in the hospital. We studied the risk factors for the patients referred using a univariant analysis, comparing those still living with those who had died. RESULTS: We find 514 patients diagnosed as having acute cardiovascular disorder, with an stroke/TIA incidence rate of 188 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The proportion of referred patients was 52%. Among these, the death rate was 27.8%. Factors affecting the death rate were the age of the patients, the reduction in the level of consciousness, and lateral gaze at the start of the stroke. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the high death rate in our selection was due to the severity of the strokes and the advanced age of the patients, as was in accordance with the methodology used in the gathering of data, which made it possible to include patients who died early.