Large Burden of Stroke Incidence in People with Cardiac Disease: A Linked Data Cohort Study

Purpose People with cardiac disease have 2–4 times greater risk of stroke than the general population. We measured stroke incidence in people with coronary heart disease (CHD), atrial fibrillation (AF) or valvular heart disease (VHD). Methods We used a person-linked hospitalization/mortality dataset to identify all people hospitalized with CHD, AF or VHD (1985–2017), and stratified them as pre-existing (hospitalized 1985–2012 and alive at October 31, 2012) or new (first-ever cardiac hospitalization in the five-year study period, 2012–2017). We identified first-ever strokes occurring from 2012 to 2017 in patients aged 20–94 years and calculated age-specific and age-standardized rates (ASR) for each cardiac cohort. Results Of the 175,560 people in the cohort, most had CHD (69.9%); 16.3% had multiple cardiac conditions. From 2012–17, 5871 first-ever strokes occurred. ASRs were greater in females than males in single and multiple condition cardiac groups, largely driven by rates in females aged ≥75 years, with stroke incidence in this age group being at least 20% greater in females than males in each cardiac subgroup. In females aged 20–54 years, stroke incidence was 4.9-fold greater in those with multiple versus single cardiac conditions. This differential declined with increasing age. Non-fatal stroke incidence was greater than fatal stroke in all age groups except in the 85–94 age group. Incidence rate ratios were up to 2-fold larger in new versus pre-existing cardiac disease. Conclusion Stroke incidence in people with cardiac disease is substantial, with older females, and younger patients with multiple cardiac conditions, at elevated risk. These patients should be specifically targeted for evidence-based management to minimize the burden of stroke.