The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)–World Hypertension League (WHL) Hypertension Monitoring and Evaluation Framework is summarized. Standardized indicators are provided for monitoring and ...evaluating national or subnational hypertension control programs. Five core indicators from the World Health Organization hearts initiative and a single PAHO‐WHL core indicator are recommended to be used in all hypertension control programs. In addition, hypertension control programs are encouraged to select from 14 optional qualitative and 33 quantitative indicators to facilitate progress towards enhanced hypertension control. The intention is for hypertension programs to select quantitative indicators based on the current surveillance mechanisms that are available and what is feasible and to use the framework process indicators as a guide to program management. Programs may wish to increase or refine the number of indicators they use over time. With adaption the indicators can also be implemented at a community or clinic level. The standardized indicators are being pilot tested in Cuba, Colombia, Chile, and Barbados.
Background. Significant racial and ethnic disparities in stroke incidence, severity, and morbidity have been consistently reported; however, less is known about potential differences in poststroke ...rehabilitation outcomes. Objective. To examine racial and ethnic differences in poststroke rehabilitation outcomes. Methods. We completed an in-depth search of Medline and several major journals dedicated to publishing research articles on stroke, rehabilitation, and racial-ethnic patterns of disease over a 10-year period (2003–2012). We identified studies that reported rehabilitation outcomes and the race or ethnicity of at least two groups. Results. 17 studies involving 429,108 stroke survivors met inclusion criteria for the review. The majority (94%) of studies examined outcomes between Blacks and Whites. Of those studies examining outcomes between Blacks and Whites, 59% showed that Blacks were generally less likely to achieve equivalent functional improvement following rehabilitation. Blacks were more likely to experience lower FIM gain or change scores (range: 1–60%) and more likely to have lower efficiency scores (range: 5–16%) than Whites. Conclusions. Black stroke survivors appear to generally achieve poorer functional outcomes than White stroke survivors. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the precise magnitude of these differences, whether they go beyond chance, and the underlying contributory mechanisms.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE—The Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status (QVSFS), a method for verifying stroke-free status in participants of clinical, epidemiological, and genetic studies, has not ...been validated in low-income settings where populations have limited knowledge of stroke symptoms. We aimed to validate QVSFS in 3 languages, Yoruba, Hausa and Akan, for ascertainment of stroke-free status of control subjects enrolled in an on-going stroke epidemiological study in West Africa.
METHODS—Data were collected using a cross-sectional study design where 384 participants were consecutively recruited from neurology and general medicine clinics of 5 tertiary referral hospitals in Nigeria and Ghana. Ascertainment of stroke status was by neurologists using structured neurological examination, review of case records, and neuroimaging (gold standard). Relative performance of QVSFS without and with pictures of stroke symptoms (pictograms) was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value.
RESULTS—The overall median age of the study participants was 54 years and 48.4% were males. Of 165 stroke cases identified by gold standard, 98% were determined to have had stroke, whereas of 219 without stroke 87% were determined to be stroke-free by QVSFS. Negative predictive value of the QVSFS across the 3 languages was 0.97 (range, 0.93–1.00), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 0.98, 0.82, and 0.80, respectively. Agreement between the questionnaire with and without the pictogram was excellent/strong with Cohen k=0.92.
CONCLUSIONS—QVSFS is a valid tool for verifying stroke-free status across culturally diverse populations in West Africa.
Background
There are few available data on the epidemiology of prehypertension (preHTN). To determine racial, clinical, and demographic differences
in the prevalence of preHTN and its cross-sectional ...association with vascular risk factors.
Methods
Cross-sectional analysis of 5,553 prehypertensives, 20,351 hypertensive's, and 4,246 nonhypertensive participants (age ≥45), from a population-based national cohort study (REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) total population 30,239, of whom 30,150 had adequate blood pressure (BP) measurements) enrolled from January 2003-October 2007 with oversampling from the southeastern stroke belt, and black individuals. Baseline data were collected using a combination of telephone interview and in-home evaluation. preHTN was defined according to The Seventh Report of the Joint national Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) guidelines.
Results
The prevalence of preHTN was associated with age and black race (62.9% in blacks compared to 54.1% in whites). A higher prevalence of preHTN was observed in obese individuals, self-reported heart disease; and, those with elevated high-sensitivity C reactive protein
(hsCRP), diabetes, and microalbuminuria compared to those without these factors. Heavy alcohol consumption in white participants was
associated with increased odds of preHTN (odds ratio (OR) = 1.32) but was even greater in black participants (OR = 2.27).
Conclusion
The prevalence of preHTN increased by age and African-American race. In addition, a higher prevalence of preHTN was observed with elevated hsCRP, diabetes, microalbuminuria, and those with heavy alcohol consumption compared to those without these factors.
American Journal of Hypertension, advance online publication 23 September 2010;
doi:10.1038/ajh.2010.204
Abstract only Introduction: The relative contributions of racial and environmental factors to the higher risk of stroke in people of African ancestry are not clear due to limited opportunities to ...evaluate stroke type and risk among indigenous Africans, in comparison with Africans in diaspora and their host populations. This knowledge could provide insights into avenues for similar vs. unique approaches to managing stroke risk in Africans. Objective: To compare the pattern of stroke and contribution of vascular risk factors to stroke among indigenous Africans, African Americans and European Americans. Methods: SIREN is a large multicenter case-control study involving several sites in West Africa, the ancestral home of 71% African Americans, whilst REGARDS is a cohort study including African and European Americans in the United States. Stroke diagnosis and type were confirmed using CT or MRI scan. Traditional vascular risk factors were assessed using history, physical examination and laboratory investigations. We compared data from acute stroke cases age≥55 years in SIREN and REGARDS in the distribution of key socio-demographic and clinical risk factors based on harmonized standard definitions. Results: There were 811 stroke subjects in the SIREN population (A) and 452 African Americans (B) and 665 European Americans (C) from the REGARDS study with a progressive increment in mean age of 68.0 ± 9.3, 73.0 ± 8.3 and 76.0 ± 8.3 years respectively, p<0.0001. Hemorrhagic stroke occurred in 291/811 (27.0%), 36/452 (8.0%) and 36/665 (5.4%), in A, B, and C (p < 0.001) respectively. There were significant differences in prevalence of vascular risk factors among the three groups namely hypertension: 92.8%, 82.5% & 64.2%, p<0.01; mean LDL cholesterol (mg/dl): 121±52, 116±32, 110±33 (p< 0.03); cardiac diseases: 12.5%, 25.0% & 31.7% (p< 0.01); sedentary lifestyle:8%, 37.7% and 34.0% (p<0.001); and 2.0%, 18.3% & 14.4% were current smokers in A, B and C respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Environmental risk factors such as cigarette smoking may contribute to the higher proportion of ischemic stroke in African-Americans compared to indigenous Africans, while racial factors may contribute to the higher proportion of hypertension among stroke subjects of African ancestry.
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