An analysis of stroke deaths in the United States from 1975 to 2019 finds both a dramatic decline and the potential for an important resurgence.
Stroke mortality (per 100,0000) plummeted from 88 to 31 for women and 112 to 39 for men between 1975 and 2019 in the United States.
Total stroke deaths fell despite the rise in age-adjusted risk because stroke rates skyrocket as people get older. A 10% reduction in the fatality rate for 75-year-olds would more than offset a doubling of the fatality rate among 35-year-olds because strokes are 100 times more common in 75-year-olds.
However, barring further improvements in stroke prevention or treatment, the most recent figures demonstrate that total stroke fatalities will rise as millennials age. Age-adjusted stroke deaths per 100,000 people bottomed out in 2014 and climbed again during the last five years of the study period….