May is National Stroke Awareness Month
According to the WHA Information Center, in calendar year 2018, there were 9,554 inpatient admissions, 3,111 emergency room visits (treated and released), 891 observation care visits and 13,305 hospital visits that required imaging, lab work or other medical services where primary or secondary treatment was for stroke.
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 140,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 of every 20 deaths.
- Every four minutes, someone in the United States dies of stroke.
- Every year, more than 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes; 185,000 are recurrent strokes.
- Stroke is an important cause of disability and reduces mobility in more than half of stroke survivors age 65 and over.
- Stroke costs the nation $34 billion annually, including the cost of health care services, medications and lost productivity.
Recognizing stroke signs and calling 9-1-1 will get someone to a hospital rapidly, leading to a better outcome.
See WHA’s CheckPoint website for data related to Wisconsin hospitals’
mortality and readmission rates for stroke.
This story originally appeared in the May 14, 2019 edition of WHA Newsletter