Priorities to reduce the burden of stroke in Latin American countries.

The large and increasing burden of stroke in Latin American countries, and the need to meet the UN and WHO requirements for reducing the burden from non-communicable disorders (including stroke), brought together stroke experts and representatives of the Ministries of Health of 13 Latin American countries for the 1st Latin American Stroke Ministerial meeting in Gramado, Brazil, to discuss the problem and identify ways of cooperating to reduce the burden of stroke in the region. Discussions were focused on the regional and country-specific activities associated with stroke prevention and treatment, including public stroke awareness, prevention strategies, delivery and organisation of care, clinical practice gaps, and unmet needs. The meeting culminated with the adoption of the special Gramado Declaration, signed by all Ministerial officials who attended the meeting. With agreed priorities for stroke prevention, treatment, and research, an opportunity now exists to translate this Declaration into an action plan to reduce the burden of stroke.

Challenges and Opportunities to Scale Up Cardiovascular Disease Secondary Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death throughout the world; however, a reduction of 21% (age-standardized cardiovascular mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants) was observed between 1990 and 2010, with more substantial reductions in CVD mortality evident in high-income countries (w42% reduction in CVD deaths).

Cervical Arterial Fibromuscular Dysplasia in a Biethnic Population: A Retrospective Study in the U.S.-Mexican Border.

Background There have been studies trying to characterize Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD); however, most of them are based in mainly non-Hispanic sample. The objective of this study is to better understand the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of craniocervical FMD in the Hispanic population. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the cerebral angiograms performed in our center in a period of 3.5 years under any indication looking for angiographic patterns of FMD. Exclusion criteria consisted of cases in which the first angiogram was done when the patients were younger than 18 years. Patients were subdivided based on those with FMD and those without it for baseline characteristics and were looked for any associations. We further compared the same baseline characteristics among Hispanic FMD and non-Hispanic FMD population. A chart review was conducted looking for clinical features and vascular events. Results We analyzed 448 angiograms among patients younger than 18 years. We identified 47 patients with evidence of FMD involving the cervical arteries and 401 patients without FMD. Of the 47 patients with FMD in our neuroendovascular registry, we found that 76.6% were women and 57.4% were Hispanics. There was no statistical significant difference when comparing the variables across ethnicities, except history of cigarette smoking and dyslipidemia. The most common associated supra-aortic arterial lesions seen in the FMD group were intracranial aneurysm and arterial dissections. We then used same variables to compare Hispanic FMD with non-Hispanic FMD. We have found that there has been a positive association of cigarette smoking and dyslipidemia with FMD ( p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion Our study suggests that FMD affecting the carotid and vertebral arteries has similar demographic pattern across ethnicities in the United States. In Hispanics, the disease appears to have a predilection for women and history of cigarette smoking. Intracranial aneurysm and arterial dissection were the most commonly associated arterial lesions.