• About 6,400,000 stroke survivors are alive today; 2,500,000 are males and 3,900,000 are females.
• Data from GCNKSS/NINDS studies show that about 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. About 610,000 of these are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent attacks.
• In 2006, females accounted for 60.2 percent of stroke deaths.
• From 1995 to 2005 the death rate from stroke declined 33.5 percent, and the actual number of stroke deaths declined 18.4 percent. 
• The 2006 death rates per 100,000 population for stroke were 41.7 for white males and 67.1 for black males, and 41.1 for white females and 57.0 for black females. 

For stroke information, call the American Stroke Association at 1-888-4-STROKE. For information on life after stroke, ask for the Stroke Family Support Network.

Related AHA and ASA publications:

• Stroke: Are You at Risk? (also in Spanish on ASA Web site)
• Warning Signs of Stroke (Quick and Easy Reading) (also in Spanish on ASA Web site)
• ¿Ha Oído lo Último? (in Spanish)
• Smoking and Your Risk of Stroke 
• High Blood Pressure and Stroke 
• How Stroke Affects Behavior 
• Living with Disability after Stroke 
• Caring for Someone with Aphasia 
• Sex After Stroke 
• Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update