Cerebrovascular Disease in Rural Kashmir, India

during the year 1986 to ascertain the prevalence and pattern of completed stroke. We detected 91 cases, giving a crude prevalence rate of 143/100,000. However, age-specific prevalence was 41/100,000 in the group aged 15-39 years and 630/100,000 in the group aged>40 years; 69.23 % of the cases were in men. Hypertension was present in 58.24 % of the cases, while strokes due to valvular heart disease and puerperium-related strokes were most common in the young. Our study is first of its kind in this part of India. (Stroke 1989;20:1691-1693) There are few reports about the incidence andprevalence of cerebrovascular diseases fromdeveloping countries such as India,1-2 and most such reports are based on the retrospective analysis of patients admitted to hospitals.3 We studied the prevalence of completed strokes in the population living in a mountainous valley in south Kashmir, a region in northwestern India, from July to November of 1986. We did not consider sodium intake or the smoking habits. Bruits in the neck were not auscultated