Every 45 seconds, someone in America has a stroke. Every 3 minutes, someone dies of one.
Stroke killed an estimated 163,538 people in 2001 and is the nation’s third leading cause of death, ranking behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.

• In 2004 the estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke is $53.6 billion.
• Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. About 500,000 are first attacks, and 200,000 are recurrent attacks.
• From 1991 to 2001 the death rate from stroke declined 3.4 percent, but the actual number of stroke deaths rose 7.7 percent.
• Each year about 40,000 more women than men have a stroke. Because women live longer than men, more women than men die of stroke each year. Women accounted for 61.4 percent of U.S. stroke deaths in 2001.
• The 2001 death rates per 100,000 population for stroke were 56.5 for white males and 85.4 for black males; and 54.5 for white females and 73.7 for black females.
• About 4.8 million stroke survivors are alive today.
• In 1999, more than 1.1 million American adults reported difficulty with functional limitations, activities of daily living, etc., resulting from stroke.
• From the early 1970s to early 1990s, the estimated number of non-institutionalized stroke survivors increased from 1.5 to 2.4 million.
• In the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study, among ischemic stroke survivors who were at least 65 years old, these disabilities were observed at six months post-stroke:

– 50 percent had some one-sided paralysis
– 30 percent were unable to walk without some assistance
– 26 percent were dependent in activities of daily living (grooming, eating, bathing, etc)
– 19 percent had aphasia (trouble speaking or understanding the speech of others)
– 35 percent had depressive symptoms
– 26 percent were institutionalized in a nursing home