Still too high - but stroke deaths are falling

Even though stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability in the United States, stroke deaths have been declining.

Not to say that stroke rates are still too high - especially with the young. And strokes - often preventable - still claim too many lives.

Still, this article showed at least a glimmer of good news about how U.S. stroke deaths fell 30 percent over the past decade:

It is possible that the most important reason for the decline is the success in lowering Americans' blood pressure, which is the biggest stroke risk factor, he said. Other reasons for the decline may include reductions in smoking, improved cholesterol levels and better treatments for stroke patients.

"We don't know how much all of the sources are contributing," Howard said. "Certainly, we want it to keep going down. But if we don't understand why the numbers are decreasing, we can't work toward that trend."

Howard said the 30 percent decline in stroke deaths in the last 11 years is "a big deal, so you could argue that our battle is won. But I think [there's still] a lot to be accomplished in this area."

Yes. A lot remains to be accomplished.