Long-Term Cognitive Impairment After First-Ever Ischemic Stroke in Young Adults

Background and Purpose—Up to 14% of all ischemic strokes occur in young adults (<50 years). Poststroke cognitive performance is a decisive determinant of their quality of life. However, virtually no studies report on cognition after young stroke, especially not on the long term. This long-term perspective is important because young patients have a long life expectancy during which they start forming a family, have an active social life, and make decisive career moves. We aimed to evaluate the long-term cognitive outcome.

Methods—All consecutive patients between January 1, 1980, and November 1, 2010, with a first-ever young ischemic stroke were recruited for cognitive assessment, using a matched stroke-free population as a reference. Read more