Hawkes MA, et al. - Due to the largely unknown long-term outcomes and stroke recurrence after basilar artery occlusion (BAO), researchers evaluated these variables in a comparatively large series of consecutive patients. From 1976 to 2011, they retrospectively identified adults with acute BAO. Exploratory survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier and log-rank tests. Using Cox models, factors related to survival time were determined. Participants in the study were 86 individuals (median age 72 [interquartile range (IQR), 60–79] years) with a median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 11 (IQR, 6–27). During the initial hospitalization, 29 patients (34%) died. During hospitalization, 17 patients had recurrent strokes and after discharge, 12 patients had 19 recurrent strokes. According to findings, BAO survivors had a severe short-term functional disability. In the first year after the initial event, most deaths and stroke recurrences occurred. In older and more disabled survivors, the risk of death was higher. Favorable long-term recovery, however, was possible.