Objective: To assess the prevalence and impact of cerebrovascular risk factors (CRF) on cerebrovascular events (CVE) in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Methods: Analysis of the patients diagnosed with GCA identified in the Spanish Hospital Discharge Database between 2016 and 2018.

Results: 8,474 hospital admissions from patients diagnosed with GCA were identified. 3.4% of the admissions were motivated by CVE (stroke in 2.8% and transient ischemic attack in 0.6%). When compared with the admissions due to other causes, the patients who suffered from CVE presented a higher rate of male sex (36.2% vs 43.5%, p=0.007), hypertension (66.9% vs 74.4%, p=0.004), diabetes (27.6% vs 33.7%, p=0.016) and atherosclerosis (6.6% vs 10.2%, p=0.0.017). After adjustment, male sex (OR=1.35, 95% CI 1.06-1.72) and mainly hypertension (OR=1.44, 95% CI 1.11-1.90) were associated with a higher risk of CVE.

Conclusion: Hypertension, along with male sex, was the strongest risk factor for cerebrovascular events in GCA patients. In these high-risk patients, antiplatelet therapy should be re-considered and evaluated in prospective studies.