That includes 459,841 from coronary heart disease and 158,448 from stroke. President of the American Heart Association Rose Marie Robertson, M.D., emphasizes that there's still a lot of work to be done to meet the goal of reducing death and disability from heart disease and stroke by 25 percent in the year 2010. High blood pressure toll rising About 50 million Americans age 6 and older have high blood pressure, or hypertension. From 1988-1998, the death rate from high blood pressure increased 16 percent. It usually has no specific symptoms or early warning signs so it truly is a silent killer.
Stroke still burdensome The report includes an update on stroke statistics.
From 1988-1998, the stroke death rate per 100,000 individuals fell 15 percent, but the actual number of stroke deaths increased more than 5 percent. Stroke remains the third leading cause of death in the United States, and a major cause of disability, and is particularly burdensome in minorities. The American Heart Association established the American Stroke Association in Nov. 1998, launching Operation Stroke to raise awareness for risk factors and warning signs of stroke, and to improve quality of care in medical facilities nationwide. It is important for us to continue our focus on prevention as a way to reduce the toll of this disease, as well as to make the public aware that we have much more effective treatments for stroke if patients come to the hospital within the first three hours of experiencing symptoms. CVD continues to claim over 58,000 more women than men each year.