Association of plaque characteristics with long-term stroke recurrence in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic disease: a 3D high-resolution MRI-based cohort study.

• Identification of intracranial plaque characteristics responsible for stroke recurrence is essential to preventing stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease. • Higher plaque burden and enhancement ratio are independent risk factors for stroke recurrence. • Plaque burden and enhancement ratio are valuable imaging markers in the prediction and stratification of the risk of stroke recurrence.