Overview

Stroke is a disease that primarily affects older adults and, with an estimated 64,000 deaths in 2024, is one of the leading causes of death in Germany. Estimates of its prevalence and the burden of disease within the German population are therefore essential for calculating future healthcare needs and guide health policy planning. When the first stroke units (SU) began to emerge in Germany in 1994, health insurers raised the question of the total number of stroke patients requiring care. Unfortunately, at that time there were no reliable figures available to determine the nationwide need for stroke units. This marked the birth of the Erlangen Stroke Registry (ESPro).

For 32 years (1994-2026), ESPro has been continuously collecting data on the epidemiology, clinical course, and care of stroke and dementia, two of the most common diseases. The ESPro is designed as a regional, population-based registry that includes, as far as possible, all diagnosed strokes-that is, both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients-regardless of age group or severity of the condition. Patients enrolled in the city of Erlangen undergo close monitoring of their clinical course and are followed up at intervals of 3 and 12 months, and then annually for the rest of their lives. This long-term follow-up enables comprehensive health services research on stroke, a widespread disease. Direct information on the course of the disease, its treatment, and care can be gleaned from registry data and incorporated into preventive medicine, treatment, and care planning.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• All cases of stroke defined according to WHO criteria, as "rapidly developing clinical symptoms and/or signs of focal, and at times global, loss of cerebral function, with symptoms lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than that of vascular origin occurring in Erlangen, Bavaria
• No restrictions regarding age (provided they are of legal age), socioeconomic circumstance, stroke severity, or prior health status

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with transient episodes lasting less than 24 hours and those with asymptomatic lesions detected by brain imaging ("silent infarcts")