INCIDENCE AND RISK-FACTORS OF ISCHEMIC AND HEMORRHAGIC STROKE IN EUROPE - EUROSTROKE - A COLLABORATIVE STUDY AMONG RESEARCH CENTERS IN EUROPE - RATIONALE AND DESIGN

EUROSTROKE is a collaborative study among ten European research centre s to investigate (1) the variation in incidence of fatal and non-fatal ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke among populations in different Euro pean countries; (2) whether the observed differences in stroke inciden ce across countries can be explained by differences in prevalence of e stablished cardiovascular risk factors; (3) the relative importance of selected dietary factors (potassium intake, smoking, alcohol consumpt ion), haemostatic disturbances (fibrinogen) and co-morbidity (rheumati c heart disease, atrial fibrillation) compared to established risk fac tors as determinants of the occurrence of ischaemic and haemorrhagic s troke. The EUROSTROKE database is drawn from ten European population-b ased prospective follow-up studies (cohorts) and is designed as a case -control study nested within these ten ongoing studies.