ABSTRACT
In the United States, stroke contributes significantly to cardiovascular disease death and was the third highest cause of mortality in 2007, with more than 130,000 deaths. Sex differences in stroke mortality can also be examined from community-based studies. The apparent sex difference inconsistency in hospital-based case fatality may be due to the interplay between hospital-based and community-based findings. In this chapter, the authors take an integrated approach to sex differences in stroke case fatality, connecting hospital and community settings. They include patients who received hospital-based stroke care and patients who died of stroke outside of a hospital. The authors link 5-year Nebraska hospital discharge data from 2005 to 2009 to the Nebraska vital statistics record system in 2010 to obtain 30-day case information for both fatality and survival. The results also provide stroke prognosis factors for Nebraska, which is important for stroke care providers and public health practitioners.
