Hematocrit and stroke in black Africans under tropical climate and meteorological influence.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between hematocrit and risk of fatal and non-fatal stroke in conjunction with meteorological variations.

Design: Prospective study of a series of Africans living in Kinshasa, Congo, followed up for 5 years.

Subjects: A total of 1,032 unselected patients consecutively admitted to hospitals for acute stroke.