• Each year, 780,000 Americans suffer a stroke.
• 600,000 of these are new strokes.*
• Stroke is the third largest cause of death in the U.S.
• Stroke is the primary cause of permanent, long-term disability
• Blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke compared with whites*
• Hispanics and other minorities have 1-1/2 times the risk of first ever stroke as compared to whites*
• As of 2005, 89,000 Marylanders have had a stroke and almost 2500 people died of stroke**
• Eighty-seven percent of strokes are ischemic, generated by blood-clots in the brain***
• Thirteen percent of strokes are hemorrhagic, caused by bleeding in the brain***
• Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases stroke risk by a factor of four****
• The risk of ischemic stroke in smokers is about double that of non-smokers*
• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a stroke with symptoms that dissipate.
• Nearly 25% of all patients who experience TIAs will die within one year.*

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