Stroke Facts

A stroke occurs every 45 seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every three minutes. The Southeastern states carry the worst burdens of stroke. Although it is not completely clear why, southeastern states, including Tennessee, have the highest stroke mortality rates in the country.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of long-term disability, costing approximately $58 billion in stroke-related costs and disability.

The following are more U.S. stroke statistics and stroke facts:

• A stroke occurs every 45 seconds.
• Approximately 1 out of 15 deaths are caused by stroke with about 50 percent of them occurring outside of a hospital.
• Someone dies of a stroke every three minutes (American Stroke Association, 2006).
• Five percent of the population older than 65 has had some form of stroke.
• Americans experience approximately 700,000 strokes each year. Nearly 500,000 (71 percent) of these are first-time strokes.
• The median time from stroke onset to arrival in an ER is between three and six hours.
• Nearly 25 percent of all strokes occur in people less than 65 years of age. Even though strokes are most commonly associated with the elderly, stroke can occur at any age, even at infancy. The rate of stroke for infants less than 30 days old (per 100,000 live births per year) was 26.4.
• More than 160,000 people die from stroke each year.
• Almost 75 percent of all strokes occur in people older than 65. After age 35, your risk of having a stroke doubles every 10 years. Five percent of the population older than 65 has had some form of stroke.
• Stroke occurs in all races. However, stroke death rates tend to be higher in African Americans.
• An estimated 1.9 million brain cells die each minute a stroke goes untreated (American Stroke Association, 2005).
• Approximately 15 percent of all strokes are preceded by a transient ischemic attack.
• As much as 25 percent of people who have a transient ischemic attack will die within a year.
• There is a risk of ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage during pregnancy and in the first six weeks postpartum that is 2.4 times greater than for women of the same age and race.

Ischemic Stroke
Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. This may happen in two ways:

• A clot may form in an artery that is already very narrow. This is called a thrombus. If it completely blocks the artery, it is called a thrombotic stroke.
• A clot may break off from another place in the blood vessels of the brain, or some other part of the body, and travel up to the brain to block a smaller artery. This is called an embolism. It causes an embolic stroke.

If you think that you or someone around you is having a stroke, call 911 immediately!

Read more about the various types of stroke and stroke warning signs.

Resources
American Stroke Association. “Impact of Stroke,” Division of American Heart Association, 2006.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Stroke,” 2006.