Facts and figures about stroke

An estimated 150,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year. [1]

Stroke accounts for around 53,000 deaths each year in the UK. [2]

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in England and Wales, after heart disease and cancer. [3]

Stroke accounts for 9 per cent of all deaths in men and 13 per cent of deaths in women in the UK. [4]

At least 450,000 people are severely disabled as a result of stroke in England. [5]

Stroke costs the economy an estimated £8 billion per year in England alone [6] and it is likely that it costs proportionate amounts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Stroke patients occupy around 20 per cent of all acute hospital beds and 25 per cent of long term beds. [7]

Stroke units save lives: for stroke patients general wards have a 14 per cent to 25 per cent higher mortality rate than stroke units [8]

Each year over 130,000 people in England and Wales have a stroke. About 10,000 of these are under retirement age. [9]

References


[1] Office of National Statistics Health Statistics Quarterly (12) Winter 2001 "Stroke incidence and risk factors in a population based cohort study"; Scottish Stroke Care Audit 2005/2006.
The Stroke Association estimate that 5,000 people per year have a stroke in Northern Ireland
[2] Stroke Statistics 2009. British Heart Foundation and The Stroke Association.
[3] Wolfe, C "The Burden of Stroke" in Wolfe, C, Rudd, T and Beech, R (eds) Stroke Services and Research (1996) The Stroke Association
[4] 2005 Coronary Heart Disease Statistics. British Heart Foundation
[5] Reducing Brain Damage: Faster access to better stroke care, National Audit Office Report. Department of Health, 2005.
[6] Progress in improving stroke care, National Audit Office, 2010.
[7] Reducing Brain Damage: Faster access to better stroke care. National Audit Office 2005
[8] Royal College of Physicians, (2001), National Sentinel Audit for Stroke - Clinical Audit Report.
[9] Office of National Statistics Health Statistics Quarterly (12) Winter 2001 "Stroke incidence and risk factors in a population based cohort study"