Concomitant coronary artery disease among Asian ischaemic stroke patients.

INTRODUCTION Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death following ischaemic stroke. We aimed to study the prevalence and associations of concomitant CAD among ischaemic stroke patients in Singapore. MATERIALS AND METHODS We prospectively studied 2686 consecutive Asian ischaemic stroke patients. RESULTS CAD was prevalent among 24% of the study patients. Older age, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, atrial fibrillation, large stroke and South Asian ethnicity were independently associated with CAD. CONCLUSIONS The variables found to be associated with CAD are known atherosclerotic risk factors (older age, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia) or associations of cardioembolic stroke (atrial fibrillation, large stroke). The over-representation of South Asians with concomitant CAD is consistent with the high burden of CAD in this ethnic group.