Abstract

Stroke is a growing public health concern in low- and middle- income countries, however no systematic study has been conducted to elucidate possible causes of stroke among most low- and middle- income countries. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of stroke, associated risk factors, electrolyte disturbances and lipid profiles in Sudanese stroke patients. A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted for 188 stroke patients. A 59.6% of patients are males and 40.4% are females, 42.55% of their age ranged between 41 to 60 years, with mortality rate 17.02%. A 78.2% of patients had ischemic infarction and 21.8% had hemorrhage. Predisposing factors for the development of stroke was hypertension 43.6%, diabetes mellitus16.5%, heart disease 4.3%, smoking 3.7% and alcohol consumption 3.7%. Stroke patients had strong family history of hypertension 12.23%, diabetes mellitus 10.11%, stroke 3.72% and heart diseases 1.10%. The electrolyte disturbances and lipid profiles showed a significant different (P<0.05) between males and females in hemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HCT), cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, and a significant different (P<0.05) between ischemic and hemorrhage stroke in platelets (PLTs), potassium and HDL levels. Our results confirm a high prevalence of risk factors for stroke, and a better understanding of stroke risk factors and outcome may help guide efforts at reducing the community burden of stroke in Sudan.

Key words: Stroke subtypes, risk factors, lipid profiles, Sudan.