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5:30 p.m. #P102 Intracerebral hemorrhage rates vary by gender, geography. The hospitalization rate for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) a potentially fatal bleeding of the brain is greatest in the southern United States and among men. However, women are more likely to die in the hospital or to be discharged to a long-term care center. These are among the findings by researchers at the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) who reviewed hospital discharge data on ICH for 1990 99. Its among the first long-term studies to focus on ICH hospitalization rates. An estimated 540,901 people over age 45 were hospitalized for ICH during the 10-year period, an average of 63.9 per 100,000 individuals each year. Slightly more men were hospitalized than women, 64.8 per 100,000 compared to 63.1, respectively, and the hospitalization rate in southern states at 67.5 per 100,000 was higher than in other parts of the country. The researchers found that 31.8 percent of men and 22.3 percent of women returned home after their hospital stay, while 15.4 percent of men and 23.7 percent of women were discharged to a long-term care facility. Approximately 29.8 percent of men and 33.6 percent of women died during their hospital stay and 65 percent of all deaths occurred within the first three days of hospital admission. Among those patients who died while hospitalized, death rates were highest for older patients, women, Caucasian patients and those who received mechanical ventilation, researchers say.

John K. Lynch, D.O., NINDS, Bethesda, Md. (301) 496-1187; lynchj@ninds.nih.gov.

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Contact: Carole Bullock
210-582-7159
American Heart Association
7-Feb-2002