Methods—Patients with first-ever stroke ascertained during 2006 through 2010 from the Dijon Stroke Registry and the
Oxford Vascular (OXVASC) Study were studied. Both studies comply with the criteria for ideal incidence studies, but
the OXVASC Study also systematically assessed all patients referred with transient ischemic attack. Stroke severity was
measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.