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Stroke Facts
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability.
- In 2000, stroke killed 167,661 people (61% of them women), accounting for about 1 of every 14 deaths. The death rate was 61 per 100,000 population.
- Stroke death rates are substantially higher for African Americans than for whites (2000 rates per 100,000 population: 87 for black men, 78 for black women, 59 for white men, and 58 for white women).
- For other racial and ethnic groups, 1999 stroke death rates per 100,000 population were 52 for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 40 for Hispanics, and 40 for American Indians/Alaska Natives.
- Approximately 50% of stroke deaths occur before the person reaches the hospital.
- Each year, about 700,000 people suffer a stroke (about 500,000 first attacks and 200,000 recurrent attacks).
- From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, the estimated number of noninstitutionalized stroke survivors increased from 1.5 million to 2.4 million.
- Medicare spent $3.6 billion in 1998 on stroke survivors discharged from short-stay hospitals.
Source: American Heart Association. Heart and Stroke Statistics―2003 Update. Available at www.americanheart.org.* CDC Activities to Reduce the Stroke Burden CDC’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
CDC currently funds health departments in 32 states and the District of Columbia to develop effective strategies to reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke and related risk factors. This program emphasizes the need for policy and program changes that promote heart–healthy and stroke–free living and working conditions. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/cvh/state_program/index.htm. Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry
CDC established the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry in 2001 and currently funds pilot programs in eight states (California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon) to design and test prototypes to assess acute stroke care in these states. Registry data will help state health departments and hospitals develop plans to reduce death and disability from stroke and improve quality of life for survivors. Stroke Networks
Stroke networks allow state health departments and their partners to share and coordinate prevention activities and advocacy strategies. CDC supports the Tri–State Stroke Network in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina and the Delta State Stroke Consortium in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Atlas of Stroke Mortality: Racial, Ethnic, and Geographic Disparities in the United States
This publication is the third in a series of CDC atlases related to cardiovascular disease. It presents, for the first time, an extensive series of national and state maps depicting disparities in county–level stroke death rates for the five largest U.S. racial and ethnic groups. This information will help health professionals and concerned citizens tailor prevention policies and programs to communities with the greatest burden of stroke. An interactive version of the atlas is available at www.cdc.gov/cvh/maps.
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