Khanevski AN, et al. - In this prospective cohort study, researchers calculated the incidence of stroke mimics (SM) in ischemic stroke (IS) survivors, compared it with the incidence of recurrent stroke in the same population, and analyzed the time-dependent patterns of SM etiologies. From 2007 to 2013, they registered SM events and etiologies among 1,872 IS and transient ischemic attack survivors who received diagnoses of index stroke at Haukeland University Hospital stroke unit by review of medical records. Three hundred thirty-nine patients had 480 SM events during 8,172 person-years of follow-up. During the follow-up, SM's cumulative incidence rate was 58.7 per 1,000 person-years vs 34.0 per 1,000 person-years for recurrent stroke during the same era. The first year after the index IS or transient ischemic attack, the dangers of SM and recurrent stroke were greatest. Sequelae of cerebral infarction, medical observation, and evaluation for suspected cerebrovascular disease and infections were the most frequent SM diagnoses. Overall, the authors concluded that SM is more common than recurrent stroke after IS or transient ischemic attack and the danger is particularly high in the early era. Early after index stroke, SMs are multi-etiological and unspecific diagnoses (sequelae of cerebral infarction and medical observation) are most common, according to the authors.