Follow-up in primary care after ischemic stroke – Insights from the

Introduction

Significant efforts have been made to improve acute stroke care and rehabilitation, leading to a growing number of stroke survivors requiring optimal secondary prevention.¹ Despite well-established guidelines, studies continue to report suboptimal risk factor control and low adherence to secondary preventive medications, which increase the risk of recurrent stroke and other cardiovascular events.^2–7

Several factors may contribute to poor adherence and inadequate risk factor management, including patient-related barriers (eg, socioeconomic status, disability, cognitive decline), physician-related factors (eg, complex drug regimens, time constraints), and health care system factors (eg, follow-up routines in primary care, coordination between hospital and primary care).⁸ While secondary prevention…