Stroke accounts for more than half the patients hospitalized for acute neurological diseases.
Stroke risk factors that can be changed or controlled include high blood pressure, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, smoking, high blood cholesterol, obesity, and physical inactivity. The stroke death rate in the Stroke Buckle is two times greater than that in the rest of the nation. The excess risk of stroke death in the Stroke Buckle affects both men and women, blacks and whites. The pattern of excess stroke death rates in the Stroke Buckle has existed for at least 50 years. The causes of the excess stroke death rates in the Stroke Buckle are not known.