About 72 percent of the people who suffer a stroke in a given year are age 65 and older. About 88 percent of stroke deaths occur in people age 65 and older. For people over age 55, the incidence of stroke more than doubles in each successive decade. For non-black women in the same age groups the rates are 6.2, 22.7 and 30.6, respectively. For black men the rates are 11.9, 17.5 and 40.8, and for black women the rates are 16.1, 22.4 and 0.0, respectively.
Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
22 percent of men and 25 percent of women who have an initial stroke die within a year. This percentage is higher among people age 65 and older. A higher percentage of men have HBP than women until age 55. About 70 percent of people with AF are between 65 and 85 years old. The incidence of heart failure approaches 10 per 1,000 population after age 65.