Knowledge and attitude towards stroke risk factors, warning symptoms and treatment in an Iranian population.

OBJECTIVES To assess the baseline knowledge regarding stroke risk factors, symptoms, treatment and information resources in an Iranian urban population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A community-based face-to-face interview survey was conducted in the Shiraz urban area in Iran. A total of 385 potential participants between the ages of 15 and 83 years were randomly selected from people referred to Motahari Clinic, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz. All the participants answered the 63 questions about different aspects of stroke. SPSS software version 15 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS The 385 participants completed the face-to-face interview. The most common risk factors for stroke identified by respondents were hypertension (342; 88.8%) and smoking (338; 87.8%). The most common warning signs of stroke were abdominal pain (370; 96.1%) and chest pain (338; 88.7%). CONCLUSION This study shows that the knowledge of and attitude towards stroke risk factors in the general population of Shiraz are adequate. By using the public media and school education, it is possible to promote the level of the population's knowledge of and attitude towards stroke.