Tennessee Stroke Registration Report, 2015

Background: Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Tennessee. The Tennessee Stroke Registry (TSR) Act requires East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health to maintain a stroke database of participating hospitals and produce an annual report. Currently, twelve hospitals submit data to the TSR. Objectives: The TSR seeks to provide stroke information to Tennessee residents, policy makers, and health-care professionals. This presentation will highlight the key findings of the 2015 TSR report and will serve as an update to the 2014 report presented at the 2015 Tennessee Public Health Association conference. Methods: Data for the TSR was collected via Quintiles, American Heart Association’s online database. Microsoft Excel and ArcMap 10.3.x were used to conduct a descriptive analysis of stroke across Tennessee, observing characteristics of both stroke overall and of individual subtypes. Results: Seventy-nine percent of strokes in Tennessee in 2015 were ischemic. Some subtypes showed significantly different proportions of males versus females. For instance, females made up 63% of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. The average age of stroke patients in Tennessee was 67.1 years, but varied for subtypes, ranging from 58.2 to 69 years. The majority of stroke patients (75.1%) had a recorded history of hypertension. Counties with high stroke mortality rates tended to cluster in areas of few certified stroke centers. Conclusion: Stroke subtypes exhibited different characteristics than stroke overall and geographic disparities were highlighted through the descriptive mapping. Identifying and understanding these differences and disparities can help in addressing ways to improve stroke care in Tennessee