Stroke

Overview :

A stroke occurs when blood flow is interrupted to part of the brain. Without blood to supply oxygen and nutrients and to remove waste products, brain cells quickly begin to die. Depending on the region of the brain affected, a stroke may cause paralysis, speech impairment, loss of memory and reasoning ability, coma, or death. A stroke also is sometimes called a brain attack or a cerebrovascular accident (CVA).

Some important stroke statistics include:

• more than one-half million people in the United States experience a new or recurrent stroke each year
• stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of disability
• stroke kills about 160,000 Americans each year, or almost one out of three stroke victims
• three million Americans are currently permanently disabled from stroke
• in the United States, stroke costs about $30 billion per year in direct costs and loss of productivity
• two-thirds of strokes occur in people over age 65 but they can occur at any age
• strokes affect men more often than women, although women are more likely to die from a stroke

• strokes affect blacks more often than whites, and are more likely to be fatal among blacks

Stroke is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment. Prompt treatment improves the chances of survival and increases the degree of recovery that may be expected. A person who may have suffered a stroke should be seen in a hospital emergency room without delay. Treatment to break up a blood clot, the major cause of stroke, must begin within three hours of the stroke to be effective. Improved medical treatment of all types of stroke has resulted in a dramatic decline in death rates in recent decades. In 1950, nine in ten died from stroke, compared to slightly less than one in three in the twenty-first century. However, about two-thirds of stroke survivors will have disabilities ranging from moderate to severe.