Those most at risk, such as the elderly, are the least informed, research shows. In his recent study on public knowledge of stroke warning signs, however, Arthur Pancioli, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati, found that only 57 percent of the 1,880 polled could name one warning sign. National groups such as the National Stroke Association are spearheading campaigns to raise awareness of stroke prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Every year, nearly 160,000 stroke victims die. Stroke ranks as the third leading cause of death in this country behind heart disease and cancer.
Stroke plays no favorites, though the elderly die most often.
The older you are, the greater your chance of a stroke. That's bad news for baby boomers as they age. If these stats give pause, so should the glacial pace at which many respond to symptoms. The notion of stroke as a marauder to be accepted like fate became etched over the years in the public psyche. That no effective treatment existed to reverse or reduce the effects of a stroke led to what Rashmi Kothari, lead author on a recent study of stroke awareness, calls a laissez faire approach.