Exogenous precipitating factors in stroke.

We studied in 300 stroke patients (100 carotid ischemic, 100 vertebrobasilar ischemic, and 100 hemorrhagic) the precipitating factors (PF) of stroke. Precipitating factors were observed in 63.7% of cases. Of the 407 PF found in the whole sample, 60% occurred 24 hours before stroke, and 40%-2-3 days before it. The most frequently met PF were: physical effort (32.3%), extreme temperature (29%), psychic trauma (23.3%), and head and body positions that may unfavourably influence cerebral circulation (23%). These PF were usually observed in associations. The differences regarding the PF incidence in the 3 stroke types were not statistically significant.