Equal Opportunity Crisis - Stroke

Recent tweet by Brintin Helliwell “Anyone of any age any gender any culture any time anywhere “ He said this in regards to Stroke. https://twitter.com/brin1958/status/1388914073908166666?s=21

Stroke is an equal opportunity crisis that can affect anyone and does affect 15 million people each year.

Stroke Statistics in the US

• In 2018, 1 in every 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease was due to stroke.

• Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. Every 4 minutes, someone dies of stroke.

• Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes.

• About 185,000 strokes—nearly 1 of 4—are in people who have had a previous stroke.

• Stroke-related costs in the United States came to nearly $46 billion between 2014 and 2015. This total includes the cost of health care services, medicines to treat stroke, and missed days of work.

• Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability. Stroke reduces mobility in more than half of stroke survivors age 65 and over.

https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/facts.htm#:~:text=Stroke%20Statistics%201%20Stroke%20kills%20about%20140%2C000%20Americans,had%20a%20previous%20stroke.%20...%20More%20items...%20

**The risk of stroke from birth through age 19 is approximately 5 per 100,000 children. Perinatal, neonatal, infant and childhood stroke are some of the most common causes of hemiplegia, hemiparesis, or hemiplegic cerebral palsy in children. Sixty percent of the children who survive a stroke will have permanent neurological problems.

https://chasa.org/medical/pediatric-stroke/

Stroke Statistics by Race and Ethnicity

• Stroke is a leading cause of death for Americans, but the risk of having a stroke varies with race and ethnicity.

• Risk of having a first stroke is nearly twice as high for blacks as for whites, and blacks have the highest rate of death due to stroke.

• Though stroke death rates have declined for decades among all race/ethnicities, Hispanics have seen an increase in death rates since 2013.

https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/facts.htm#:~:text=Stroke%20Statistics%201%20Stroke%20kills%20about%20140%2C000%20Americans,had%20a%20previous%20stroke.%20...%20More%20items...%20

My Story_______________________________________________________________

I had a stroke at the age of 58. I was in a "dream" job. I hoped to be at that agency until I retired which I hoped would be at age 65 or less. Of course, stroke derailed these plans.