Strokes Up, Especially for Younger Adults

Strokes are rising worldwide, a new study shows. And much of the burden is falling on middle-aged adults and low- to middle-income countries. Researchers put together numbers from 119 studies to estimate strokes for the years 1990 and 2010. In that 20-year span, stroke death rates declined 36% in high-income countries and 20% in low- and middle-income countries. But the total number of first strokes rose 68%. Strokes among adults ages 20 to 64 rose from 25% to 31% of all strokes. Most of that increase occurred in the low- to middle-income countries. Illness and death linked with stroke has shifted toward people under age 75, the study found. They now account for 62% of new strokes, 45% of deaths and 72% of illness and disability. Another new study found that hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes cause 52% of deaths and 61% of disability from stroke.