Brain Attack — A Stroke Survival Guide

America’s Stroke Burden

Stroke kills almost 130,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 in every 18 deaths.

• On average, one American dies from stroke every 4 minutes.
• Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke.
• About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes.
  • One in four are recurrent strokes.
• Ischemic strokes happen when blood clots block the blood vessels to the brain.
  • About 87% of all strokes are ischemic.
• Stroke costs the United States an estimated $54 billion each year.
• This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and missed days of work.
• Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability.