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A first-ever
report issued May 23rd by the Centers for Disease Control
about stroke deaths in the United States highlights the need
for people to become more aware of the symptoms and signs
that constitute a stroke.
The report
found that 167,366 stroke deaths occurred in the United States
in 1999, making strokes the third leading cause of death nationally.
About 48 percent of those deaths occurred before the victims
could be transported to the hospital.
Janet
Croft, heart disease and stroke expert in the CDC's cardiovascular
health program, emphasized the importance of people knowing
the signs and symptoms of a stroke so that they or those around
them can get prompt treatment.
According
to Croft, the five major symptoms of a stroke are sudden numbness
or weakness, dimness or loss of vision, dizziness or loss
of balance, sudden severe headache and confusion or difficulty
speaking.
Croft
said people should call 911 immediately if they or someone
else experiences just one of those symptoms. The patients
should reach the hospital within three hours to receive a
type of treatment that could potentially reduce disability.
The report
also contains state-specific information. South Carolina had
the highest age-adjusted death rates for stroke at 83.8 per
100,000 people in 1999, while New Hampshire had the lowest
at 33 per 100,000 people.
Croft
said southern states have long been collectively referred
to as the stroke belt, possibly due a higher proportion of
citizens being overweight and hypertensive than residents
of other states.
But the
greater familiarity that southerners have with stroke may
also be helping more of them get to the hospital sooner than
the residents of other areas where stroke is not as prevalent,
she added.
Next to
the District of Columbia (23.3 percent), Louisiana (28.9 percent)
and Mississippi (30.4 percent) had the lowest rate of pre-transport
deaths in the nation. Oregon had the highest (67.3 percent).
"At
CDC, we're assessing public awareness of stroke signs and
symptoms" Croft told Medical Week. "We hope to get
a report in a year. We'll find out if the states with high
pre-transport death rates have the worst awareness."
Source:
Hypertension
Week of May 26, 2002
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