Stroke Fact Sheet

Stroke Facts

• Stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States. Over 800,000 people die in the U.S. each year from cardiovascular disease and strokes.¹
• A stroke, sometimes called a brain attack, occurs when a clot blocks the blood supply to the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.
• Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every four minutes someone dies of stroke.²
• Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes. About 185,000 people who survive a stroke eventually have another.²
• Stroke is an important cause of disability. In 2005, nearly 1.1 million stroke survivors reported difficulty performing basic activities of daily life.³
• In 2010, the estimated cost of stroke in the United States was $53.9 billion.² This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.
• Common stroke warning signs and symptoms include—
  
  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg—especially on one side of the body.
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
  • Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
    
• You can’t control some stroke risk factors, such as heredity, age, gender, and ethnicity. Some medical conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, overweight or obesity, and previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), can raise also your stroke risk. Not smoking, not drinking excessively, and getting exercise are all choices you can make to reduce your risk.

CDC's Public Health Efforts

CDC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
Since 1998, CDC has funded state health departments’ efforts to reduce the number of people with heart disease or stroke. Health departments in 41 states and the District of Columbia currently receive funding. The program stresses policy and education to promote heart-healthy and stroke-free living and working conditions.

Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry
CDC funds health departments in seven states—Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio—to collect stroke data through the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry. The data collected will help hospitals improve acute stroke care guidelines and practice, which will improve patient outcomes by reducing untimely deaths, preventing disability, and avoiding recurrent strokes.

A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke
These recommendations—the result of a far-reaching collaboration—help guide the nation’s heart disease and stroke prevention efforts. A national forum of experts committed themselves to preventing disease rather than treating it and to transforming public health agencies into effective agents of change. CDC convenes the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and implements the Plan.

WISEWOMAN
CDC funds 21 WISEWOMAN projects in 19 states and two tribal organizations. WISEWOMAN helps women with little or no health insurance reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. The program assists women age 40 to 64 in improving their diet, physical activity, and other behaviors. WISEWOMAN also provides cholesterol tests and other screening.

For More Information

For more information about stroke, visit the following Web sites.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• American Stroke Association
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  

References

1. Miniño AM, Murphy SL, Xu J, Kochanek KD. Deaths: Final data for 2008 [PDF-2.9M]. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 59 no 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011.
2. Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2011 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011 Feb 1;123(4):e18-e209. Epub 2010 Dec 15.
3. CDC. Prevalence and most common causes of disability among adults—United States, 2005. MMWR 2009;58(16):421–426.
4. Heidenreich PA, Trogdon JG, Khavjou OA, Butler J, Dracup K, Ezekowitz MD, et al. Forecasting the future of cardiovascular disease in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011;123:933-44. Epub 2011 Jan 24.