Recent Trends in Stroke Research

Ischemic stroke is a condition that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. While there have been several advances in experimental modeling and prospective treatments, research has left much to be desired when it comes to understanding the mechanisms and factors at play when a stroke occurs. Stroke has become a serious issue in the United States, as more than 795,000 people in the US have a stroke every year. About 610,000 of those are first time strokes, while 185,000 occur in patients who have had a stroke before. Stroke is also responsible for about 140,000 deaths in the US every year, which is about one out of every twenty deaths in the country. This makes it the fifth leading cause of death in America. When cost of health care services, medicine, and work days missed are taken into account, the total yearly cost of stroke in the US is about 34 billion dollars. It is also the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States.