Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: [email protected]. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Notice to Readers: National Stroke Awareness Month, May 2002
May is National Stroke Awareness Month in the United States. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the
United States and is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. During 2002, approximately 500,000 persons in the
United States will have a first-time stroke, and an additional 100,000 will have a recurrent attack
(1).
New developments in treatment of ischemic stroke have shown that thrombolytic medications might make the
difference between disability and full recovery
(2), but thrombolytic treatment is effective only if given within 3 hours of onset
of symptoms. Among persons who died of stroke in 1999, 48% of deaths occurred before transport to a hospital or
emergency department. Recognizing stroke symptoms and seeking prompt emergency assistance can help reduce stroke death
and disability.
During May, several ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø-sponsored Cardiovascular Health State Programs, the National Stroke Association, the
American Stroke Association, and other federal agencies will highlight programs and activities about prevention and awareness of
stroke and its risk factors. For example, the Cardiovascular Health State Program in several states will be collaborating with
the American Stroke Association to implement "Operation Stroke," an initiative to increase public awareness of stroke
symptoms and the need to call 911 and to improve emergency and medical care for stroke.
Additional information about stroke, warning signs, risk factors, prevention, treatment, and new research is available
from ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø at , from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at
, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at
, from
the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association at
and , from the Brain Attack Coalition at
, and from the National
Stroke Association at .
References
American Heart Association. 2002 Heart and stroke statistical update. Dallas, Texas: American Heart Association, 2001. Available at
.
Adams HP, Brott TJ. Furlan AJ, et al. Guidelines for thrombolytic therapy for acute stroke: a supplement to the guidelines for the management
of patients with acute ischemic stoke. American Heart Association/Medical Scientific Statement. Stroke 1996;27:1711--8.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
[email protected].
