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AHA: Stroke deaths on decline in United States
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Deaths resulting from stroke have significantly declined in the United States, primarily due to improved prevention and treatment, according to an American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement published in Stroke.
Stroke dropped from the third leading cause of death in men and women of all races and ages to the fourth leading cause of death.
“In addition to the overall impact on fewer lives lost to stroke, the major decline in stroke mortality seen among people <65 years of age represents a reduction in years of potential life lost,” according to the statement.
The decline is genuine, and not the result of an increase in deaths from lung cancer, which is now the third leading cause of death, statement co-author Daniel T. Lackland, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said in a press release.
The statement cites public health efforts to lower BP, control hypertension and diabetes, and increase physical activity that have contributed to the decline of stroke deaths since the 1970s. Antismoking programs, improved control of abnormal cholesterol levels and the advancing quality of treatment also have lowered the risk, according to the statement.
“The decline in stroke deaths is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th and 21st centuries,” Lackland stated in the release. “We can’t attribute these positive changes to any one or two specific actions or factors, as many different prevention and treatment strategies have a positive impact. Policymakers now have evidence that the money spent on stroke research programs aimed at stroke prevention and treatment have been spent wisely and lives have been saved.”
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of the authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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