SERUM LIPID DERANGEMENTS IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC STROKE.

Background; Stroke is a global health problem. Stroke is responsible for major disabilities in adult population, and is 2nd leading cause of deaths all over the world. Different studies have reported dyslipidemia as major cause of stroke in different populations. Objective; To determine the frequency of dyslipidemias in patients with ischemic stroke at Nishtar Hospital Multan. Material and methods; All the cases of stroke (n=240) Patients having finding on CT scan brain (plain) consistent with ischemic stroke of either sex aged less than 80 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study from department of Medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Complete history about onset of illness, diabetes, hypertension and cardiac illness of the patients was taken. Baseline laboratory investigations including lipid profile and Hb A1c were done. Results; Of these 240 study cases, 155 (64.6 %) were male patients and 85 (35.4%) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was 68.37 ± 14.55 years (with minimum age was 34 years while maximum age was 79 years). Out of these 240 study cases, 138 (57.5 %) were from poor families, 53(22.1 %) were diabetic and only 11 out of 53 (20.75%) had controlled glycemic levels. Hypertension was present in 182 (75.8%) of our study cases and 39 (16.3 %) were obese. Smoking was present in 101 (42.1%), previous history of stroke was present in 35 (14.6%) and 83 (34.6%) were Saraikis. Mean duration of illness was 2.24 ± 0.53 months and 135 (56.3%) had disease duration more than 1 month. Mean serum cholesterol level was 202.06 ± 45.36 mg/dl, mean serum LDL level was 91.13 ± 10.24 mg/dl, mean serum triglyceride level was 147.51 ± 20.21 mg/dl and mean serum HDL level was 42.92 ± 3.85 mg/dl and dyslipidemia was present in 85 (35.4 %). Conclusion; Frequency of dyslipidemia was high among patients having ischemic stroke in our study. Dyslipidemia was significantly associated with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, previous history of stroke and ethnicity. Early diagnosis followed by timely management can help reduce disease morbidity and improve clinical outcomes in these patients. Keywords; ischemic stroke, dyslipidemia, frequency.