Janika Kõrv

Background Behavioral risk factors are common among young patients with stroke. This study aimed to compare the health behavior of patients and healthy controls and develop a combined risk score of health behavior. Methods The health behavior of patients aged 18–54 years who suffered an ischemic stroke from 2013 to 2020 in Estonia was compared to the Health Behavior among Estonian Adult Population 2014 study sample. We chose five risk factors for comparison: smoking status, body mass index, physical exercise, diet (salt use and vegetable consumption), alcohol intake (quantity and frequency), and composed a summary score. Results Comparing 342 patients and 1789 controls, daily smoking (49.0% vs. 22.7%), obesity (33.4% vs. 15.9%), low physical activity (< twice/week) (72.2% vs. 60.5%), excessive salt use (8.6% vs. 4.5%), and frequent alcohol use (≥ weekly) (39.9% vs. 34.0%) were more prevalent among patients. The differences in infrequent vegetable consumption (<6 days/week) and excessive alcohol consumption (7 days, >8 units/females, >16 units/males) were not significant. The observed differences were similar for age groups 18–44 years and 45–54 years. The average Health Behavior Stroke Risk Score (0–10) was 4.6 points (CI 4.4–4.8, SD ± 1.97) for patients and 3.5 points (CI 3.4–3.6, SD ± 1.90) for controls. Conclusions Before stroke, young patients displayed significantly worse health behavior than the general population. The largest differences were found for smoking and obesity, and a cumulation of risk factors was observed via the HBSR score.

Background: Monitoring and measuring different aspects of stroke care pathway is the cornerstone for improvement of quality. We aim to analyze and give an overview of improvements of stroke care quality in Estonia. Patients and methods: National stroke care quality indicators are collected and reported using reimbursement data and include all adult stroke cases. In Estonia, five stroke-ready hospitals are participating in Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q), providing data on all stroke patients 1 month every year. Data from the national quality indicators and RES-Q from 2015 to 2021 are presented. Results: The proportion of intravenous thrombolysis for all Estonian hospitalized ischemic stroke cases increased from 16% (95% Confidence Interval, CI 15%–18%) in 2015 to 28% (95% CI 27%–30%) in 2021. Mechanical thrombectomy was provided to 9% (95% CI 8%–10%) in 2021. The 30-day mortality rate has decreased from 21% (95% CI 20%–23%) to 19% (95% CI 18%–20%). More than 90% of patients with cardioembolic stroke are prescribed anticoagulants at discharge, but only 50% are on anticoagulant treatment 1 year after stroke. Also, the availability of inpatient rehabilitation needs improvement, being 21% (95% CI 20%–23%) in 2021. A total of 848 patients are included in the RES-Q. The proportion of patients receiving recanalization therapies was comparable to the national stroke care quality indicators. All stroke-ready hospitals show good onset-to-door times. Conclusion: The overall stroke care quality in Estonia is good, especially the availability of recanalization treatments. However, secondary prevention and the availability of rehabilitation services need improvement in the future.