Stroke Education
The Stroke Network

	Stroke is the #1 cause of serious, long-term adult disability in the United States.1
	Stroke is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. It kills nearly 160,000 people each year.1
	Every 45 seconds someone in the U.S. will experience a stroke. This means that every year more than 750,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke.2
	Over the course of a lifetime, four out of every five American families will be touched by stroke.3
	4 million Americans are living with the effects of stroke. About 1/3 have mild impairments, another 1/3 are moderately impaired and the remaining 1/3 are severely impaired.3
	Nearly 30% of those who suffer a stroke are under the age of 65.7  Each year, stroke affects 120,000 women and 105,000 men under 45 years of age.10
	For people over 55, the incidence of stroke more than doubles in each successive decade.7
	The incidence of stroke is higher for males than for females, especially in the under 65 age group. Women account for 43% of the strokes that occur each year but  they account for 62% of stroke deaths.1
	Each year, stroke kills more than twice as many American women as breast cancer.1
	Among women over age 45, stroke is more common than heart attack.1
	Women over age 30 who smoke and take high-estrogen oral contraceptives have a stroke risk 22 times higher than average.12
	Stroke incidence among African Americans is almost double that of white Americans.1
	African-Americans not only have a higher incidence of strokes than Caucasians and Hispanics, but they also suffer more extensive physical impairments that last longer than those of other racial groups in the U.S. Not only are African-Americans twice as likely as Caucasians to have a stroke, they are also twice as likely to die from a stroke.13
	People with diabetes, especially those who have high blood pressure, are at increased risk for stroke. Women with diabetes are at greater risk than men.14
	Hypertension is a major contributing factor for up to 70% of strokes.15
	Among adults age 50 and over, a recent survey showed that 97% could not identify a single stroke symptom. Only 1% could name stroke as a leading cause of death.16
	Approximately one third of younger individuals with stroke and 3/4 of older individuals with stroke have persisting impairments and disabilities.4
	It has been estimated that 33% of stroke survivors need help caring for themselves. 20% need help walking. 70% cannot return to their previous jobs.5 51% are unable to return to any type of work after stroke.6
	Approximately 1/3 of all stroke survivors will have another stroke within five years.7 About 14% will have another within one year.8
	Stroke costs the U.S. $30 billion dollars annually in medical expenses and lost productivity.9 　 References:

1. Hoyert DL, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL. Deaths: Final Data for 1997. National Vital Statistics Reports; Vol. 47 no. 19. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 1999.
2. Williams GR, Jiang JG, Matchar DB, Samsa GP. Incidence and Occurrence of Total (First-Ever and Recurrent) Stroke. Stroke. 1999;30:2523-2528.
3. American Heart Association. 1999 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update. Dallas, Texas: American Heart Association. 1998.
4. Malmagren R, Bamford J, Warlow C, et al. Projecting the number of patients with first-ever strokes and patients newly handicapped by stroke in England and Wales. BMJ. 1989;298:656-660.
5. Kannel WB, Wolf PA, Verter J, et al. Epidemiologic assessment of the role of blood pressure in stroke risk: the Framingham Study. JAMA. 1970;214:301-310.
6. Black-Schaffer RM, Osber JS. Return to work after stroke: development of a predictive model. Arch Phys Med Rehab. 1990;71:285-290.
7. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Stroke: Hope Through Research. www.ninds.nih.gov, May 1999.
8. Broderick J, Brott T, Kothari R, et al. The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Study: Preliminary first-ever and total incidence rates of strokes among blacks. Stroke. 1998;29:415-421.
9. Matchar DB, Duncan PW. Cost of Stroke. Stroke Clin Updates. 1994;5:9-12.
10. Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance, Stroke, 1980-1989. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control; 1994:69.
11. Collins JG. National Center for Heath Statistics, 1988: prevalence of selected chronic conditions, United States, 1983-1985. In. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service; 1989:155.
12. Petitti DB, Winger J. Use of oral contraceptives and cigarette smoking and risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Lancet. 1978;2(8083):234-5.
13. Horner, R. Racial Variations on Ischemic Stroke-Related Physical and Functional Impairments. Stroke. 1991;22:1497-1501.
14. Gorelick PB, Sacco RL, Smith DB, et al. Prevention of first stroke: a review of guidelines and a multidisciplinary consensus statement from the National Stroke Association. JAMA. 1999;281:1112-1120.
15. Dunbabin DW, Sandercock PAG. Preventing stroke by the modification of risk factors. Stroke. 1990;21(suppl IV): 36-39.
16. Gallup/National Stroke Association Survey of Stroke Awareness in America. 1996.
17. National Stroke Association, Stroke/Brain Attack Briefing. 1999.

Statistics copied from Stroke awareness Organization of southern CALifornia (SOCAL).