From 1975 to 2019, there’s been a significant decrease in the number of people in the U.S. dying from strokes.
During this period, the rate of stroke deaths per 100,000 people dropped from 88 to 31 for women and from 112 to 39 for men.
This drop happened even though stroke risk increases as people age. In simple terms, the risk of stroke is 100 times higher for a 75-year-old than a 35-year-old.
So, a 10% drop in stroke deaths among 75-year-olds could balance out a doubling of stroke deaths among 35-year-olds.
A Possible Rise in Stroke Deaths
However, the situation might be changing. If we don’t keep improving how we prevent and treat strokes, the number of people dying from them might start to increase again.
The data shows that the rate of stroke deaths reached its lowest point in 2014 but began to rise in the last five years of the study period.
Cande Ananth, the head of the study, said that people born later (around 1960 onwards) have a higher chance of dying from a stroke at any age.
The study didn’t find out why this is happening, but other research points towards a rise in obesity and diabetes.
The Method of the Study
The research team looked at death records from the past 44 years. They used this information to track almost every adult under 85 who died from a stroke during this time, which was over 4.3 million deaths.
For the first time, the research team sorted people by their birth year and noticed that the risk of dying from a stroke has been rising steadily from the late 1950s to the early 1990s.
Key Findings
The research team also made two new discoveries:
The rate of deaths from ischemic strokes, which happen when a blood vessel to the brain gets blocked, fell by around 80%. The rate of deaths from hemorrhagic strokes, which happen when a blood vessel leaks or bursts, fell by around 65%.
The difference in stroke deaths between men and women gets smaller as people age. At 55, men are more than twice as likely as women to die from a stroke. But by 85, the rates are almost the same for men and women.
According to Ananth, “After nearly four decades of declining stroke-related mortality, the risk appears to be increasing in the United States. Our research underscores the need for novel strategies to combat this alarming trend.”
If you care about stroke, please read studies about a breakfast linked to better blood vessel health, and olive oil could help lower risks of heart disease and stroke.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and wild blueberries can benefit your heart and brain.
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
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