Changes in sleep-disordered breathing severity and post-stroke outcomes in the first year after stroke.

Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common among stroke survivors and is associated with worse functional, cognitive, and neurologic outcomes after stroke. Little is known about the association between changes in SDB and changes in these outcomes over time.

Methods: Ischemic stroke (IS) patients identified through the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi project were offered SDB testing with a portable respiratory monitor (ApneaLink Plus) shortly after stroke, and at 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-stroke.

Changes Over Time in Short-Term Stroke Outcomes by Race-Ethnicity.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to quantify trends (2008-2019) in stroke outcomes by race-ethnicity.

Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke from a population-based study were interviewed at 90 days to assess outcomes. Linear regression with multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting was used to model trends.

Hypertension Prevalence, Treatment, and Control 90 Days After Acute Stroke Among Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Adults.

Background: High blood pressure (BP) increases recurrent stroke risk.

Methods And Results: We assessed hypertension prevalence, treatment, control, medication adherence, and predictors of uncontrolled BP 90 days after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke among 561 Mexican American and non-Hispanic White (NHW) survivors of stroke from the BASIC (Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi) cohort from 2011 to 2014. Uncontrolled BP was defined as average BP ≥140/90 mm Hg at 90 days poststroke.

Neighborhood Resources and Health Outcomes Among Stroke Survivors in a Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Stroke survivors believe neighborhood resources such as community centers are beneficial; however, little is known about the influence of these resources on stroke outcomes. We evaluated whether residing in neighborhoods with greater resource density is associated with favorable post-stroke outcomes.

Methods And Results: We included Mexican American and non-Hispanic White stroke survivors from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi project (2009-2019).

Caring for Stroke Survivors: Ethnic Differences in Informal Caregiver Needs Among Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Communities.

Background: After stroke, Mexican American (MA) individuals have worse 90-day neurological, functional, cognitive, and quality of life outcomes and a higher prevalence of poststroke depression compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals. MA individuals receive more help through informal, unpaid caregiving than NHW individuals. We examined ethnic differences in needs identified by MA and NHW stroke caregivers.

Association between sleep-disordered breathing and post-stroke fatigue in patients with ischemic stroke.

Objectives: Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is common and often disabling. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent among stroke survivors and can cause fatigue. We explored the relationship between SDB and PSF over time.

Surrogate Decision-Making After Stroke in a Community Setting: The OASIS Project.

Background: Patients with severe stroke often rely on surrogate decision-makers for life-sustaining treatment decisions. We investigated ethnic differences between Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals in surrogate reports of physician quality of communication and shared decision-making from the OASIS study (Outcomes Among Surrogate Decision Makers in Stroke) project.

Methods: Patients had ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage in Nueces County, TX.

Heterogeneity of obstructive sleep apnea phenotypes after ischemic stroke: Outcome variation by cluster analysis.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common but under-recognized after stroke. The aim of this study was to determine whether post-stroke phenotypic OSA subtypes are associated with stroke outcome in a population-based observational cohort.

Methods: Ischemic stroke patients (n = 804) diagnosed with OSA (respiratory event index ≥10) soon after ischemic stroke were identified from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project.

Long-Term Psychological Distress Among Surrogate Decision Makers for Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Patients With Severe Stroke.

Background And Objectives: During acute hospitalizations, physicians often focus on the stroke patient and not family who may be traumatized by this sudden change to their loved one. We investigated long-term psychological distress among family surrogate decision makers for Mexican American (MA) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) severe stroke patients. Previous work in other diseases suggested worse psychological outcomes in MA than NHW caregivers.

Novel metrics of sleep-disordered breathing are associated with outcome after ischemic stroke.

Objective/background: Standard measures of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) that rely on count data may not sufficiently capture SDB severity or reflect downstream consequences of SDB. We hypothesized that novel metrics derived from pulse rate, oxygen saturation, and nasal pressure would be associated with stroke outcomes.

Patients/methods: Shortly after ischemic stroke, participants in a population-based study were offered ApneaLink Plus testing.

Mexican Americans agree to participate in longitudinal clinical research more than non-Hispanic whites.

Background: The National Institutes of Health has advocated for improved minority participation in clinical research, including clinical trials and observational epidemiologic studies since 1993. An understanding of Mexican Americans (MAs) participation in clinical research is important for tailoring recruitment strategies and enrollment techniques for MAs. However, contemporary data on MA participation in observational clinical stroke studies are rare.

Association of Neighborhood Recreation Centers and Poststroke Outcomes in a Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Higher neighborhood socioeconomic status has been favorably associated with stroke outcomes. This may be due to these areas having more beneficial resources such as recreational centers. We aimed to determine if neighborhood density of recreation centers is favorably associated with stroke outcomes.

Barriers to Surrogate Application of Patient Values in Medical Decisions in Acute Stroke: Qualitative Study in a Biethnic Community.

Background: The objective of this study was to identify barriers to surrogate decision-maker application of patient values on life-sustaining treatments after stroke in Mexican American (MA) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with stroke patient surrogate decision-makers completed approximately 6 months after hospitalization.

Results: Forty-two family surrogate decision-makers participated (median age: 54.

Positive airway pressure treatment for sleep-disordered breathing is rare during the first year after stroke: The BASIC project.

Objective/background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is very common after ischemic stroke, and its treatment may have a positive impact on recovery from stroke and on secondary stroke prevention. This study sought to determine the prevalence of positive airway pressure (PAP) use after stroke.

Patients/methods: Participants in the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project underwent a home sleep apnea test shortly after ischemic stroke.

Methods and early recruitment of the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi-Post-acute Care (BASIC-PAC) Project.

Objectives: Compared with non-Hispanic whites (NHWs), Mexican Americans (MAs) have worse stroke outcomes. We report here the methods, background literature, and initial recruitment of the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi-Post Acute Care (BASIC-PAC) Project which aims to explore PAC in MAs and NHWs from multiple perspectives: patients, caregivers, and community.

Materials And Methods: Rigorous active and passive stroke surveillance captures all strokes in Nueces County, Texas.

The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding.

Swath radar technology enables three-dimensional mapping of modern glacier beds over large areas at resolutions that are higher than those typically used in ice-flow models. These data may enable new understanding of processes at the ice-bed interface. Here, we use two densely surveyed swath-mapped topographies (<50 m resolution) of Thwaites Glacier to investigate the sensitivity of inferred basal friction proxies to bed roughness magnitude and orientation.

Racial and ethnic differences in sleep-disordered breathing and sleep duration among stroke patients.

Objective: We sought to characterize racial and ethnic differences in pre- and post-stroke sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and pre-stroke sleep duration.

Methods: Within the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi cohort of patients with ischemic stroke (8/26/2010-1/31/2020), pre-stroke SDB risk was assessed retrospectively using the Berlin Questionnaire. Post-stroke SDB was defined by prospective collection of the respiratory event index (REI) using the ApneaLink Plus performed shortly after stroke.

Outcomes in the Year After First-Ever Ischemic Stroke in a Bi-Ethnic Population.

Objective: To investigate stroke outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months post-stroke overall and by ethnicity in a population-based, longitudinal study.

Methods: First-ever ischemic strokes (2014-2019, n = 1,332) among Mexican American persons (n = 807) and non-Hispanic white persons (n = 525) were identified from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project. Data were collected from patient or proxy interviews (baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months post-stroke) and medical records, including functional (activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living score), neurological (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale), cognitive (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination), and quality of life (QOL) outcomes (12-domain Stroke-specific Quality of Life scale).

Ethnic differences exist in sleepiness 3 Months after ischemic stroke.

Objective/background: To examine the association between ethnicity and 90-day post-stroke subjective sleepiness, an important determinant of quality of life, as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), among ischemic stroke survivors.

Patients/methods: Mexican American (MA) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) recent ischemic stroke patients were identified from the population-based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project (2010-2016). Subjects completed a baseline interview and 90-day outcome assessment that included the ESS.

Primary Murine Macrophages as a Tool for Virulence Factor Discovery in Coxiella burnetii.

Coxiella burnetii requires a type IVB secretion system (T4SS) to promote intracellular replication and virulence. We hypothesized that employs its T4SS to secrete effectors that enable stealthy colonization of immune cells. To address this, we used RNA sequencing to compare the transcriptional response of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) infected with those of wild-type and a T4SS-null mutant at 8 and 24 h postinfection.

Ten-Year Trends in Sleep-Disordered Breathing After Ischemic Stroke: 2010 to 2019 Data From the BASIC Project.

Background Despite good evidence that the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is increasing in the general population, no data are available about trends in poststroke SDB. We therefore sought to assess changes in poststroke SDB over a 10-year period (2010-2019). Methods and Results Participants in the BASIC (Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi) project were offered a home sleep apnea test to assess for SDB after stroke.

Descending 13 real world steps: A dataset and analysis of stair descent.

Background: Stair descent analysis has been typically limited to laboratory staircases of 4 or 5 steps. To date there has been no report of gait parameters during unconstrained stair descent outside of the laboratory, and few motion capture datasets are publicly available.

Research Question: We aim to collect a dataset and perform gait analysis for stair descent outside of the laboratory.

Temporal Trends in Ischemic Stroke Rates by Ethnicity, Sex, and Age (2000-2017): The Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project.

Objective: To compare 18-year (2000-2017) temporal trends in ischemic stroke rates by ethnicity, sex, and age.

Methods: Data are from a population-based stroke surveillance study conducted in Nueces County, Texas, a geographically isolated, biethnic, urban community. Active (screening hospital admission logs, hospital wards, intensive care units) and passive (screening inpatient/emergency department discharge diagnosis codes) surveillance were used to identify cases aged ≥45 (n = 4,875) validated by stroke physicians using a consistent stroke definition over time.