ASSESSMENT OF ISCHEMIC STROKE IN VARIOUS NEUROVASCULAR TERRITORIES ON COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Abstract

Introduction: Ischemic stroke is one of the considerable public health concerns with diverse clinical presentations and underlying risk factors. Understanding the dissemination of ischemic strokes in different neurovascular zones and identifying associated risk factors is crucial for optimizing prevention and management strategies Objectives: To determine the frequency of ischemic stroke in various neurovascular regions and territories.
Materials & Methods: The study was a descriptive cross sectional study, which was based upon the secondary data collected from relevant patients history file and report forms by the research team using questionnaires. The study was conducted from patient report forms ranging from (July 1, 2022-July 1, 2023) and was conducted in Rehman medical institute, Peshawar. The data was collected by non-probability convenience sampling using a selfstructured questionnaire. Results: The distribution of ischemic strokes varied across neurovascular territories, with 160 (54.8%) patients were suffering from middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory, 96 (32.9%) patients were suffering from lacunar artery (LA) territory, 48 (16.4%) patients were suffering from anterior cerebral artery (ACA) territory, 39 (13.4%) patients were suffering from internal carotid artery (ICA) territory, 38 (13%) patients were suffering from Vertebero-basilar arteries (VBA) territory, 37 (12.7%) patients were suffering from watershed / border zone territory and 28(9.6%) patients were suffering from posterior cerebral artery (PCA).Conclusion: Based on our data collection, we conclude that MCA territory strokes are the most common while the PCA territory strokes are the least common among neurovascular strokes. Furthermore, we found that the incidence of stroke increases with age, as 5.8% of patients were in the 40–49 age range. The highest percentage was seen in the age range of 70–79, followed by the 60–69 age range and then in the 50–59 age range. Our findings indicated that the primary risk factors for stroke were hypertension, atrial fibrillation, migraine and diabetes mellitus