- Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death.
- Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long term disability.
- Each year 700,000 people suffer a stroke. Of those 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent attacks.
- 28% of people who suffer a stroke are under the age of 65.
- On average, someone in the US suffers a stroke every 45 seconds. Every 3 minutes someone dies of a stroke.
- About 4.7 million stroke survivors are alive today.
- 8-12% of ischemic strokes and 37% of hemorrhagic strokes result in death within 30 days.
- 8% of men and 11% of women will have a stroke within 6 years following a heart attack.
- 14% of people who have a stroke or TIA will have another within a year.
- 22% of men and 25% of women who have an initial stroke die within a year.
Sources: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2005 Update, published by the American Heart Association.