ABCD2 score | |
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The ABCD2 score is a clinical prediction rule used to determine the risk for stroke in the days following a transient ischemic attack (TIA, a condition in which temporary brain dysfunction results from oxygen shortage in the brain). [1] [2] Its usefulness was questioned in a 2015 review as it was not found to separate those who are at low from those who are at high risk of future problems. [3] A high score correctly predicted 87% of the people who did have a stroke in the following 7 days but also many people who did not have problems. [3]
The ABCD2 score is based on five parameters (age, blood pressure, clinical features, duration of TIA, and presence of diabetes); scores for each item are added together to produce an overall result ranging between zero and seven. [1] People found to have a high score are often sent to a specialist sooner. [1] Other clinical risk factors, such as atrial fibrillation and anticoagulation treatment, as well as ongoing or recurrent TIA, are also relevant. [1]
The ABCD2 score was proposed in 2007 as a modified version of the ABCD score of 2005 (the ABCD score did not consider the presence of diabetes). [4] [5] [6] In the largest study based on emergency department testing of the ABCD2 score in an acute setting, the score performed poorly in both high-risk and low-risk patients. The study found the score to be 31.6% sensitive in high-risk patients (score >5) and only 12.5% specific in low-risk patients (score ≤2). [7]
Age | Blood Pressure | Clinical Features | Duration of TIA | Diabetes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
no point | <60 years | normal | no speech disturbance and no unilateral (one-sided) weakness | <10 minutes | no diabetes |
1 point | ≥60 years | raised (≥140/90 mmHg) | speech disturbance present but no unilateral weakness | 10–59 minutes | diabetes present |
2 points | – | – | unilateral weakness | ≥60 minutes | – |
The risk for stroke can be estimated from the ABCD2 score as follows:
A transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini-stroke, is a minor stroke whose noticeable symptoms usually end in less than an hour. TIA causes the same symptoms associated with strokes, such as weakness or numbness on one side of the body, sudden dimming or loss of vision, difficulty speaking or understanding language, slurred speech, or confusion.
Cerebrovascular disease includes a variety of medical conditions that affect the blood vessels of the brain and the cerebral circulation. Arteries supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain are often damaged or deformed in these disorders. The most common presentation of cerebrovascular disease is an ischemic stroke or mini-stroke and sometimes a hemorrhagic stroke. Hypertension is the most important contributing risk factor for stroke and cerebrovascular diseases as it can change the structure of blood vessels and result in atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis narrows blood vessels in the brain, resulting in decreased cerebral perfusion. Other risk factors that contribute to stroke include smoking and diabetes. Narrowed cerebral arteries can lead to ischemic stroke, but continually elevated blood pressure can also cause tearing of vessels, leading to a hemorrhagic stroke.
Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism. Ischemia is generally caused by problems with blood vessels, with resultant damage to or dysfunction of tissue i.e. hypoxia and microvascular dysfunction. It also means local hypoxia in a given part of a body sometimes resulting from constriction. Ischemia comprises not only insufficiency of oxygen, but also reduced availability of nutrients and inadequate removal of metabolic wastes. Ischemia can be partial or total blockage. The inadequate delivery of oxygenated blood to the organs must be resolved either by treating the cause of the inadequate delivery or reducing the oxygen demand of the system that needs it. For example, patients with myocardial ischemia have a decreased blood flow to the heart and are prescribed with medications that reduce chronotrophy and ionotrophy to meet the new level of blood delivery supplied by the stenosed so that it is adequate.
Thrombolysis, also called fibrinolytic therapy, is the breakdown (lysis) of blood clots formed in blood vessels, using medication. It is used in ST elevation myocardial infarction, stroke, and in cases of severe venous thromboembolism.
The thiazolidinediones, abbreviated as TZD, also known as glitazones after the prototypical drug ciglitazone, are a class of heterocyclic compounds consisting of a five-membered C3NS ring. The term usually refers to a family of drugs used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2 that were introduced in the late 1990s.
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly.
Amaurosis fugax is a painless temporary loss of vision in one or both eyes.
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Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a neurological disorder whose key defining characteristic is a temporary but almost total disruption of short-term memory with a range of problems accessing older memories. A person in a state of TGA exhibits no other signs of impaired cognitive functioning but recalls only the last few moments of consciousness, as well as possibly a few deeply encoded facts of the individual's past, such as their childhood, family, or home perhaps.
Perindopril is a medication used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, or stable coronary artery disease.
The CHADS2 score and its updated version, the CHA2DS2-VASc score, are clinical prediction rules for estimating the risk of stroke in people with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation (AF), a common and serious heart arrhythmia associated with thromboembolic stroke. Such a score is used to determine whether or not treatment is required with anticoagulation therapy or antiplatelet therapy, since AF can cause stasis of blood in the upper heart chambers, leading to the formation of a mural thrombus that can dislodge into the blood flow, reach the brain, cut off supply to the brain, and cause a stroke.
The management of atrial fibrillation (AF) is focused on preventing temporary circulatory instability, stroke and other ischemic events. Control of heart rate and rhythm are principally used to achieve the former, while anticoagulation may be employed to decrease the risk of stroke. Within the context of stroke, the discipline may be referred to as stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (SPAF). In emergencies, when circulatory collapse is imminent due to uncontrolled rapid heart rate, immediate cardioversion may be indicated.
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A silent stroke is a stroke that does not have any outward symptoms associated with stroke, and the patient is typically unaware they have suffered a stroke. Despite not causing identifiable symptoms, a silent stroke still causes damage to the brain and places the patient at increased risk for both transient ischemic attack and major stroke in the future. In a broad study in 1998, more than 11 million people were estimated to have experienced a stroke in the United States. Approximately 770,000 of these strokes were symptomatic and 11 million were first-ever silent MRI infarcts or hemorrhages. Silent strokes typically cause lesions which are detected via the use of neuroimaging such as MRI. The risk of silent stroke increases with age but may also affect younger adults. Women appear to be at increased risk for silent stroke, with hypertension and current cigarette smoking being amongst the predisposing factors.
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