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Will this patient have another stroke?

New computer program will determine a patient's risk of recurrent stroke

Center researchers are building a computer risk model to help doctors uncover how likely a stroke patient is to have another stroke.

Stroke is the country’s leading cause of disability. It is the 3rd top cause of death.

The model looks at the medical records of veterans who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) anytime since 1999. It sorts out patients’ risk factors – like high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol – for the ten years leading up to the stroke to determine who is most at risk for a recurrence. “We are looking at the whole package,” says William Jones, MD, the study’s lead researcher.

Dr. Jones is a neurologist at Roudebush VA Medical Center and Physician Scientist in the Center of Excellence in Implementing Evidence-Based Practice. Dr. Jones is also active in the national Stroke QUERI, whose Clinical Coordinating site is here in Indianapolis.

“A stroke puts a patient into a situation that is hard to cope with,” he says. “And it’s hard to see people struggling with the loss of things they had been able to do. You want to reach out and help them.”