Patients with isolated vertigo attack preceding stroke have different clinic characteristics: a retrospective study

Background: Isolated vertigo attack history preceding the acute stroke were frequently accompanying with other focal neurological symptoms. To clarify the different clinical characteristics between isolated vertigo attack and vertigo symptom accompanying hemiplegia preceding stroke, we performed this 4-year retrospective study. Methods Medical records of 1283 patients hospitalized with vertigo symptom had been screened. Patients were divided into two groups: isolated vertigo attack history preceding the stroke defined as IVA group, vertigo symptom accompanying hemiplegia attack defined as VAH group. Clinic characteristics including ABCD 2 score, infarction volume and location, relative risk factors and the following medical intervention were compared between the group. Results Patients featured with VAH had higher extracranial stenosis (21.2% vs. 9.0%, P < 0.01) and ABCD 2 score (3.7 ± 1.9 vs. 2.3 ± 1.5, P = 0.03), patient with IVA showed a higher diabetic prevalence (40.9% vs. 29.7%, P = 0.02). The frequency of vertigo events tended to be more commonly in patient with VAH (median 3.1 vs. 5.5, p < 0.03). The total cerebral infarction volume in IVA group tended to be larger than VAH with a median of 4.56 cm 3 versus 2.32 cm 3 (p = 0.02). Additionally, less patients with IVA sought medical intervention when vertigo symptom occurred. Conclusions Clinical characteristics including ABCD2 score, total cerebral infarction volume and the location were different between AVH and IVH group. In addition, less patients in IVH cohort sought medical intervention when vertigo symptom occurred.