First-Year Results of a Community-Based Study of Stroke Incidence in Umbria, Italy

The SEPIVAC study (Italian initials for "epidemiologic study of incidence of acute cerebrovas-cular disease") is a community-based epidemiologic survey of incidence and outcome of cerebrovascular disease in the territory of the 6th Local Health Unit, Umbria, Italy, where 49,101 people live. All cases were registered with the study either by notification from general practitioners or by check of hospital admission within the study area and in the two hospitals of Perugia. Death certificates were looked at as well. Patients were registered with the study when the clinical picture fulfilled the definition of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TLA) adopted for this study. Patients were followed up at approximately 30 days and 6 months. During the Arst year of the study (September 1, 1986 to August 31, 1987), 189 cases wer