On average, ESUS accounts for about 1 in 6 ischemic strokes (17% (range 9 – 25%)) according to a systematic literature review of 9 studies. Patients with ESUS tend to be relatively young and experience mild strokes. However, ESUS is associated with high recurrence rates. Of 2045 ESUS patients (identified by 8 studies) * 58% were male, * the mean age was 65 years, * the average annualized rate of stroke recurrence was 4.5% * mean NIHSS at stroke onset was 5. The stroke recurrence rate was 29.0% over 5 years in patients with ESUS, which is similar to patients with cardioembolic stroke (26.8%), but significantly higher than all types of non-cardioembolic stroke. However, mortality was significantly lower in patients with ESUS than cardioembolic stroke.
Embolic stroke of undetermined source
Lacunar stroke
Posterior circulation infarct
Watershed stroke
Partial anterior circulation infarct
Posterior cerebral artery syndrome
Anterior cerebral artery syndrome
Hemorrhagic infarct