Did you know?
Stroke is the third leading cause of death for both men and women.
Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes.
Here are a few more statistics and information to help you make informed dececisions about your heart health.
Stroke & Heart Disease Resources
In 2006, 137,000 people in the United States died of stroke, accounting for nearly 1 in every 17 deaths. Only heart disease and cancer killed more people.
Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and every three to four minutes, someone dies of stroke.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death for both men and women. In 2006, 6 out of every 10 deaths due to stroke were in women.
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 go on to have another.
Ischemic strokes, which occur when blood clots block the blood vessels to the brain, are the most common type of stroke, representing about 85% of all strokes.
Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability.
Stroke is among the five leading causes of death for people of all races and ethnicities. But the risk of having a stroke varies. Compared to whites, African Americans are at nearly twice the risk of having a first stroke. Hispanic Americans' risk falls between the two. Moreover, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to die following a stroke than are whites.
Around 40 percent of African American men and women have some form of heart disease, compared to 30 percent of White men and 24 percent of White women.
African Americans are also 29 percent more likely to die from the disease than Whites.
While Hispanics die from heart disease at a lesser rate than Whites, Mexican American women are diagnosed with the condition more frequently than White females.
Mexican Americans, who make up the largest share of the U.S. Hispanic population, also suffer in greater numbers from overweight and obesity than Whites, two of the leading risk factors for heart disease.
More than 25 percent of deaths in the Asian and Pacific Islander community and 20 percent of deaths in the American Indian community are caused by heart disease.
One-half of all African American women will die from stroke or heart disease.
African Americans are twice as likely to die from stroke as Caucasians.
The rate of first strokes in African Americans is almost double that of Caucasians and strokes tend to occur earlier in life for African Americans than Caucasians.
African American stroke survivors are more likely to become disabled and experience difficulties with daily living and activities.
African Americans are more impacted by stroke than any other racial group within the American population.
African American women have a lower 1-year survival following ischemic stroke (caused by a blood clot) compared with Caucasians.
African Americans have twice the risk of strokes compared with Caucasians.
Among those that are 20 to 44 years of age, African Americans are 2.4 times more likely to have a stroke compared with Caucasians.
Online Resources to Explore