{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T07:30:04Z","timestamp":1786433404760,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769040000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Council on Stroke of the European Society of Cardiology"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The ABCStroke pathway is a structured, person-centred approach to post-stroke care encompassing antithrombotic therapy, functional and psychological optimization, and cardiovascular risk factor management, proposed by the European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke. Adherence to the pathway has been associated with improved outcomes in observational studies, but its cost-effectiveness remains unknown. We evaluated the long-term cost-effectiveness of the ABCStroke pathway in the UK.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods and results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A Markov model was developed to simulate lifetime costs and outcomes of patients following an ischaemic stroke, using clinical data from the Athens Stroke Registry and UK-specific cost and utility inputs from the Oxford Vascular Study. Patients were stratified by adherence to all three ABCStroke pathway components vs. non-adherence. Over a 20-year horizon, pathway-aligned\/adherent care was associated with higher costs (\u00a3129 143 vs. \u00a371 472) and greater quality-adjusted life years (QALYs; 9.84 vs. 5.94), yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of \u00a314 804 per QALY gained. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of \u00a325 000 per QALY, the net monetary benefit of the ABCStroke pathway was \u00a3116,857, compared with \u00a377 028 for non-aligned care, indicating a net gain of \u00a339 829 in favour of the ABC-aligned strategy. Deterministic sensitivity analyses showed the ICER remained below \u00a316 000 per QALY across plausible parameter ranges. Even assuming a 100-fold increase in pathway implementation costs, the strategy remained within or near the lower boundary of the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence willingness-to-pay threshold.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In the UK, implementation of the ABCStroke pathway is cost-effective. These findings support strategic investment in structured, multidisciplinary integrated care for stroke survivors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/ehjqcco\/qcaf157","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T12:45:58Z","timestamp":1767789958000},"page":"825-832","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Cost-effectiveness of the ABCStroke pathway in ischaemic stroke care: a UK pilot analysis"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Borislav","family":"Borissov","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Sofia , Boulevard \"Akademik Ivan Evstratiev Geshov \" 15, 1431 Sofia ,","place":["Bulgaria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Sagris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science at University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and 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