10 things you should know about stroke

1.    Stroke is Australia’s second single greatest killer after coronary heart disease and a leading cause of disability.   ^{Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2006. Australia’s Health 2006.}

2.    In 2011, Australians will suffer around 60,000 new and recurrent strokes – that’s one stroke every 10 minutes.  ^{AG Thrift (personal communication). Estimates obtained using NEMESIS data (assuming no change in incidence), and Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates of a changing population.}

3.    One in five people having a first-ever stroke die within one month and one in three die within a year. ^{Thrift AG, Dewey HM, Macdonell RAL, McNeil JJ, Donnan GA 2000. Stroke incidence on the East Coast of Australia: the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Stroke 31 (9):2087-2092.}

4.    The number of strokes will increase each year due to the ageing population unless something is done to
       reduce the incidence rate. ^{AIHW: Senes, S 2006. How we manage stroke in Australia}

5.    The FAST test is an easy way to recognise and remember the signs of stroke. Using the FAST test involves asking
       three simple questions:

•    Face – Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?
•    Arms – Can they lift both arms?
•    Speech – Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
•    Time – Time is critical. If you see any of these signs call 000 now!

6.    In the next ten years more than half a million people will suffer a stroke. ^{AG Thrift (personal communication) see above.These estimates are for 2008 to 2017 inclusive (ie 10 years)}

7.    Stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. ^{Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2006. Australia’s Health 2006.}

8.    About 88 per cent of stroke survivors live at home and most have a disability.   ^{AIHW: Senes S 2006. How we manage stroke in Australia.}

9.    Close to 20 per cent of all strokes occur to people under 55 years old. ^{AIHW: Heart, stroke and vascular diseases, Australian Facts 2004}

10.   Strokes cost Australia an estimated $2.14 billion a year.  ^{Cadilhac, D., H. Dewey et al. Investing in Stroke – What are the potential cost offsets from the strokesafe program. National Stroke Research Institute – Technical Report (Unpublished) 2005.}