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Fact Sheets and At–a–Glance Reports
Know the Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke
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About Stroke
Signs of a Stroke
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes
these major signs of stroke:
• |
Sudden
numbness or weakness of the face, arms or legs |
• |
Sudden
confusion or trouble speaking or understanding others |
• |
Sudden trouble
seeing in one or both eyes |
• |
Sudden trouble
walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination |
• |
Sudden severe
headache with no known cause |
If you think someone is having a stroke, you should call 911 immediately.
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A stroke or cerebrovascular accident occurs when the blood supply to
the brain is cut off (an ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel bursts (a
hemorrhagic stroke). Most strokes are of the ischemic type. Without
oxygen, brain cells begin to die. Death or permanent disability can
result. High blood pressure, smoking, and having had a previous stroke or
heart attack increase a person’s chances of having a stroke.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United Sates. In 2002,
stroke killed 162,672 people, accounting for about 1 of every 15 deaths in
the United States. According to the American Heart Association, about
700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke each year (about
500,000 first attacks and 200,000 recurrent attacks). Four million
Americans who have survived a stroke are living with impairments and 15 to
30 percent are permanently disabled. The American Heart Association also
estimates that stroke cost about $68 billion in both direct and indirect
costs in 2005 in the United States alone.
With timely treatment, the risk of death and disability from stroke can
be lowered. It is very important to know the symptoms of a stroke and act
in time.
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CDC Activities to Reduce the Stroke Burden
CDC’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program: CDC
currently funds health departments in 32 states and the District of
Columbia to develop, implement, and evaluate cardiovascular health
promotion, disease prevention, and control programs and to eliminate
health disparities. The programs emphasize the use of education, policies,
environmental strategies, and systems changes to address heart disease and
stroke in various settings and to ensure quality of care. For more
information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/hdsp/stateprogram/index.htm.
Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry: CDC funds four
state health departments (Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, and North
Carolina) to establish state–based Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke
Registries with the mission of monitoring, promoting, and improving the
quality of acute stroke care in their states. These were established after
testing and evaluating eight prototype projects. The data collected will
guide quality improvement interventions at the hospital level that will
fill the gap between clinical guidelines and practice. The registries will
help facilitate necessary policy and system changes at national, state, and
local levels that will result in improvement in patient outcomes. The
long–term goal of this program is to ensure that all Americans receive the
highest quality of acute stroke care that is available to reduce untimely
deaths, prevent disability, and avoid recurrent strokes.
Stroke Networks: Stroke networks allow state health departments and their
partners to share and coordinate prevention activities and advocacy
strategies. CDC supports the Tri–State Stroke Network in Georgia, South
Carolina, and North Carolina and the Delta State Stroke Consortium in
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
Atlas of Stroke Mortality: Racial, Ethnic, and Geographic Disparities in
the United States: This publication presents an extensive series of
national and state maps depicting disparities in county–level stroke death
rates for the five largest U.S. racial and ethnic groups. This information
will help health professionals and concerned citizens tailor prevention
policies and programs to communities with the greatest burden of stroke.
An interactive version of the atlas is also available at
http://www.cdc.gov/cvh.
For more information
Visit our Web site at
http://www.cdc.gov/hdsp/ or the
Web sites of the following CDC partners:
Back to topReferences
- American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics — 2004
Update. Dallas, TX: AHA, 2003. Available at
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200026.*
Accessed Janary 26, 2004
- National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States,
2003 Chartbook on the Health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD:
Department of Health and Human Services, 2003. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm. Accessed December 12, 2003
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*Links to non–Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
Date last reviewed:
05/12/2006
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke
Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
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