American STroke Month

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Togetheris more than a word, it’s a rallying cry; a call to action to join with fellow warriors -- family, friends, neighbors and healthcare professionals -- to do something as a group that can’t be done alone.

Together. It’s how we can give our loved ones more quality moments with one another.

Together. It’s how we will tackle a leading cause of serious, long-term disability and death.

Together. It’s how we willend stroke.

Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds in the U.S.

  • Each year, about as many Americans have a stroke as a heart attack.
  • Stroke caused more than 133,000 deaths in 2014.
  • After years of decline, recent data shows that stroke mortality has climbed 3 percent.

80% of strokes are preventable.

  • High blood pressure is the most important controllable risk factor for stroke.
  • One in three American adults has high blood pressure.
  • About three in four people who have a first stroke, have blood pressure greater than 140/90 mm Hg.

Stroke is largely treatable.

  • The faster you are treated, the more likely you are to recover.
  • Stroke patients who received the clot-busting drug alteplase(IV r-tPA) within 90 minutes of symptom onset were almost 3 times more likely to recover with little or no disability.
  • 91 percent of stroke patients who were treated with a stent retriever within 2.5 hours of symptom onset recovered with little or no disability.

The American Stroke Association’s Together to End Stroke™ initiative, nationally sponsored by Medtronic, teaches the acronym F.A.S.T. to rememberthe most common signs of stroke. If you spot sudden (F)ace drooping, (A)rm weakness, or (S)peech difficulty, it’s (T)ime to call 911.

How many more lives can be saved if everyone who knows how to spot a stroke, passes the knowledge on to others? Let’s find out; starting with you.

Visit StrokeAssociation.org/strokemonth to learn more andjoin with others, Together to End Stroke™.

About the American Stroke Association

The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke — the No.2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association was created in 1997 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit strokeassociation.org.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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