Who Is Affected by Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
About 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year. About 610,000 are first strokes, and about 185,000 are recurrent attacks:1
- Stroke is a leading cause of death, after heart disease and cancer.
- Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
- Women are less likely than men to have a stroke in almost all age ranges. But because women live longer than men, their lifetime risk of stroke is higher than for men. And more women than men die from strokes every year.
- Blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to have a stroke.
The exact number of people who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) is not known for certain, because people do not always recognize a TIA. And about half of the people who have had a TIA don't ever see a doctor for it.
Stroke Recovery and Arm Rehab: Important Questions
After a stroke, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns about how -- and even if -- you will recover. When will you be able to move your arms? Is your independent life gone forever? It's difficult to predict to what degree someone will recover after a stroke, says Randie M. Black-Schaffer, MD. Schaffer is medical director of the Stroke Program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. "How quickly a patient recovers in the first few weeks," she says, "can give us an indication of...
Read the Stroke Recovery and Arm Rehab: Important Questions article > >
It is estimated that about 200,000 to 500,000 TIAs happen in the United States each year. Men and African Americans have TIAs more often than women and people of other races.1
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