Abstract:
Epidemiology of intracerebral haemorrhage In the Netherlands, intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 16% of all first strokes.1 ICH is a devastating condition with a high case fatality rate and poor functional outcome.2,3 Age-adjusted overall stroke incidence in high-income countries has decreased by 42% in the past four decades, which has been largely attributed to a decline in the incidence of ischemic stroke.4 Whether the incidence of ICH had also changed is less clear; in some regions a decline has been reported5,6 while in others the incidence of ICH has been stable. 7,8 Overall stroke case fatality appeared more or less stable during these four decades,4 although case fatality of subarachnoid haemorrhage had decreased by 17% since 1972.