Latino stroke survivors have poor recurrent stroke risk factor knowledge

Background: One third of stroke survivors will experience another stroke in the future. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia and underuse of anti-thrombotic medications are the most significant risk factors for recurrent strokes, yet only a minority of stroke survivors have all three risks controlled. Methods: We surveyed 585 participants recruited into a stroke prevention intervention study in underserved communities in New York City. Participants were eligible if they were age ≥ 40 and had a stroke or TIA in the past 5 years. We asked participants to identify 3 risk factors for stroke at baseline. We conducted chi-square and t-test analyses to compare between participants who recognized risks and those who did not. Results: Only 95 (16%) respondents identified hypertension, 68 (12%) hyperlipidemia and 12 (2%) anti-thrombotic underuse as risk factors. Latinos were significantly less likely to identify hypertension (9% vs. 22%., p<.001) and hyperlipidemia (9% vs. 23% p=.001), and more likely to identify stress (48% vs. 24% p<.001) as risk factors, as compared with Whites. Less educated (10% vs. 19%, p <.005) and Spanish-speaking (7% vs. 19% p<.001) participants were also less likely to identify hypertension. There were no significant differences by sex, age, income, years since stroke, family history of stroke, and social support. Conclusions: Stroke survivors have very poor recurrent stroke risk factor knowledge and this knowledge deficit is exaggerated among Latino, undereducated and non-English speaking individuals. Health providers should consider developing culturally appropriate education strategies to improve stroke knowledge, coupled with efforts to improve risk factor control to reduce stroke recurrence.