Long-Term Outcomes of Acute Ischemic Stroke in Patients Aged 80 Years and Older Yang-Ki Minn,1,3 Soo-Jin Cho,1,3 Seon-Gyeong Kim,1,3 Ki-Han Kwon,1,3 Jin-Hyuck Kim,2,3 Mi-Sun Oh,2,3

Purpose: Short life expectancy influences decision-making when treating very old patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We investigated mortality and survival duration in very old AIS patients ( ≥ 80 years) who received hospital care. Patients and Methods: Mortality data were obtained from med-ical records, structured telephone inquiries, death certificates from the Korean National Statistical Office, and social security data 5 ± 1.9 years after stroke onset. Age, gender, vascular risk factors, and functional outcomes from modified Rankin scales (MRS) at discharge were analyzed as predictors of mortality. Results: Among 134 patients, 92 (68.7%) died. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, duration of survival of patients aged 80- 84 years was longer than those aged 85- 89 or 90- 94 (24 ± 6.4, 8 ± 7.3, 7 ± 2.0 months, respectively, p = 0.002). Duration of survival of patients discharged in a state of MRS 0- 1 was longer than the remaining groups at 47 ± 4.8 months (p < 0.001). In Cox proportional hazard analysis, age and MRS at discharge were independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion: Long-term outcomes of very old patients with AIS are not uni-formly grave, therefore predictors of mortality and estimated du-ration of survival should be considered during decision- mak-ing for treatment