In support of World Stroke Day on October 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call on Americans to take immediate action to reduce their risk for stroke.
Every 6 seconds someone in the world dies from stroke, making it also one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Someone will have died from stroke in the time it took to read out loud the headline on this story.
Approximately 137,000 Americans die of stroke each year, this is about the equivalent to the total population of Eugene, Ore., or Savannah, Ga.
Strokes, also called a brain attacks, occur when the blood supply to the brain is blocked either because of a blood clot (thrombosis or arterial embolism) or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts (hemorrhage). People can greatly reduce their risk for stroke by changing their lifestyle and, in some cases, medication.
CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. explains:
“Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds and while that is a statistic to some, it’s a life abruptly changed for the person who suffered the stroke and the person’s family. We can do so much more to prevent strokes and the new Million Hearts initiative offers opportunities for individuals, providers, communities, and businesses to apply tools we have readily available today to reduce strokes and heart attacks.”
Of all stroke and heart reducing actions currently available, Million Hearts, a new HHS national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years, aims to improve clinical care by helping patients learn and follow their ABCS:
- Aspirin for people at risk
- Blood pressure control
- Cholesterol management
- Smoking cessation
In the fight against heart disease and stroke, Million Hearts brings together communities, nonprofit organizations, health systems as well as federal agencies and private-sector partners from across the country.
Fewer than half of Americans who should be taking a daily tablet of aspirin are actually doing so and less than half of Americans suffering from high blood pressure are in control of their situation. Whilst only 1 in 3 Americans with high cholesterol receives effective treatment, fewer than a quarter of Americans who smoke seek help to quit their habit when seeing their doctor.
Although anyone can suffer a stroke, some populations have a higher risk than others. The risk of having a first stroke in African Americans for example is almost twice that of Caucasians whilst the risk for Hispanic Americans’ falls between the two. In addition, African-Americans and Hispanics tend to have a higher risk of mortality following a stroke compared with Caucasians. One of the risk factors for stroke is high blood pressure, which affects 68 million adults in the U.S.
Circa half of those affected by high blood pressure are not in control of their condition.
Stroke can cause death or leave a person severely disabled due to paralysis, speech difficulties and emotional problems following a stroke. Providing patients’ receive medical care as quickly as possible after the onset of symptoms, new treatments can potentially reduce stroke damage. If people believe they are suffering a stroke or someone else recognizes the symptoms, call 911 immediately and quickly seek out the nearest hospital.
Below is a list of symptoms, whose sudden onset requires immediate medical attention:
- Sudden confusion, difficulty in speaking or understanding
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, in particular on one side of the body
- Sudden loss of balance or coordination, problems walking and dizziness
- Sudden severe headaches of unknown cause
- Sudden problems seeing in one or both eyes
Annually over 2 million people suffer heart attacks and strokes with treatment costs for these and other vascular diseases accounting for approximately $1 of every $6 spent on healthcare dollars.
For more information on how to prevent stroke, click
To find out more about Million Hearts and how to get involved, click here.
Written by Petra Rattue