Despite some progress, disparities remain

This article by Reuters Health illustrates how strokes can impact. Despite age or race, this problem impacts us all, and we're all better off if we all work to reduce stroke risks:

Strokes in young blacks drain South Carolina's pocket:

In South Carolina, African Americans suffer strokes at younger ages and have worse outcomes than Caucasians, Dr. Wayne Feng and colleagues report in the latest issue of the medical journal Stroke.

They point out that in their state, lifetime costs for strokes that occurred in 2006 alone, including lost earnings, are likely to total $1.92 billion.

The persistent racial disparities in stroke "result in significant economic consequences to the state, particularly among younger patients," the researchers conclude.