MONDAY, March 31, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The risk for subsequent stroke is persistently high for patients who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke, according to a review and meta-analysis published online March 26 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Faizan Khan, Ph.D., from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and colleagues examined the annual incidence rates and cumulative incidences of stroke up to 10 years after TIA or minor stroke in a review of prospective or retrospective cohort studies. The analysis included 171,068 patients from 38 studies.

The researchers found that the pooled rate of stroke per 100 person-years was 5.94, 1.80, and 1.72 events annually in the first year, second through fifth years, and sixth through 10th years, respectively. The cumulative incidence of stroke was 12.5 and 19.8 percent at five and 10 years, respectively. Studies conducted in North America and Asia had higher stroke rates than those in Europe (rate ratios, 1.43 and 1.62, respectively); stroke rates were also higher in cohorts recruited in or after 2007 (rate ratio, 1.42) and in studies that used active versus passive outcome ascertainment methods (rate ratio, 1.11). Lower stroke rates were seen in studies focusing solely on patients with TIA or first-ever index events compared with those with an unselected patient population (rate ratios, 0.68 and 0.45, respectively).

“Findings from this study underscore the need for improving long-term stroke prevention measures in this patient population,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and health technology industries.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.