Recent stroke stats show we've got a lot of work remaining

Men are more likely to die of a stoke than women. And black men are in danger the most. I'm signed up to receive reports from the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and these nuggets of information came through.

None of these numbers are shocking. Numbers seem to be in a slow downward trend, but still too high. Here's a link and excerpt to the report under the category of QuickStats:

During 2000–2013, age-adjusted death rates for stroke for all racial/ethnic groups decreased steadily. Non-Hispanic white males had the largest decline (41.7%), and Hispanic females had the smallest (35.8%). Throughout the period, the rate for non-Hispanic black was the highest among the racial/ethnic groups examined, followed by non-Hispanic white and Hispanic populations. The rate for males was higher than that for females in each racial/ethnic group.

Now, how do make these numbers better?

Concerns about the stroke care gaps

The American Heart Association recently highlighted a disturbing and continuing trend about racial, ethnic gap in stroke care:

In a scientific statement, the AHA notes that stroke is more common among African-Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives than among whites.

The AHA calls for raising awareness of stroke factors and the need for urgent treatment, increasing access to insurance coverage in minority populations, and doing more research on the roots of racial and ethnic disparities in stroke care. ...

Stroke is more likely if you have risk factors including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and a history of peripheral artery disease (PAD), carotid artery disease, or certain types of heart disease.

Several of those risk factors are more common in minority groups than among whites.