Family history of stroke – a useful clue for the primary care physician and stroke neurologist: a narrative review

Abstract

Purpose:The heritability of ischemic stroke is a complex mechanism, involving the contribution of genetic traits and environmental factors, which is why in everyday practice clinicians often rely on the broad term "family history of stroke", defined as the case of any first-degree relative who has had a stroke. The aim of this review is to update the available data regarding family history of stroke in primary and secondary stroke prevention by searching the electronic Scopus database for the phrase TITLE-ABS-KEY ("family history" AND "stroke"). Views: A total of 140 articles met the pre-specified criteria and were included in the review. The prevalence of family history of stroke ranged from 37% in stroke-free individuals to 52% in patients with ischemic stroke. In primary prevention, family history of stroke was associated with increased risk of stroke, transient ischemic attack, stroke risk factors and stroke-like symptoms. In patients with ischemic stroke, it was more often associated with small-and large-vessel disease, though not with a cardioembolic etiology. Family history of stroke did not influence long-term functional outcomes after rehabilitation. In young stroke victims, it was related to symptom severity and the risk of a second stroke. Conclusions: Consideration of family history of stroke in everyday practice may carry useful information both for primary care physicians and stroke neurologists.

Correlation of TyG-BMI and TyG-WC with severity and short-term outcome in new-onset acute ischemic stroke

“…In patients with good collateral circulation, once blood vessels are occluded and thrombosis is formed, collateral vessels will provide part of the blood supply, leading to slow brain tissue ischemia, less necrosis of brain cells, and relatively mild neurological function defect. In addition, studies have shown that a family history of stroke is an important risk factor for obesity and hyperlipidemia ( 48 , 49 ), and these patients may also have cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. They will have active health improvement behaviors.…”