Stroke was the third leading global cause of death and disability in 2021, when the World Health Organization estimated 93.8 million stroke cases and 11.9 million new cases worldwide. In the United States, annual estimates describe more than 795,000 strokes, while national data show substantial differences by age, race, sex, education and region. The figures below distinguish modeled estimates, surveys, observed vital statistics and hospital records.
Contents
- Global burden and long-term trends
- U.S. incidence, recurrence and stroke types
- U.S. prevalence by age, race, sex and education
- U.S. mortality trends and disparities
- Hospital care, emergency visits and short-term outcomes
- Awareness, disability and economic costs
Global burden and long-term trends
The WHO’s Stroke fact sheet describes a large and rising worldwide burden. Its 2021 global figures are modeled estimates, so they should be read as population-level estimates rather than a single registry count.
- An estimated 93.8 million stroke cases existed globally in 2021.
- The world recorded an estimated 11.9 million new stroke cases in 2021.
- Predicted lifetime stroke risk reached 1 in 4 adults, after increasing 50% over the preceding 20 years, approximately 2001–2021.
- Global stroke burden measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) increased from 137 million in 2000 to 160 million in 2021.
- WHO identifies 10 modifiable risk factors as accounting for most of the global stroke burden in its 2021 evidence base.
The WHO’s The top 10 causes of death fact sheet adds two useful comparisons. Stroke accounted for approximately 10% of all deaths worldwide in 2021. In high-income countries, total stroke deaths fell 18% between 2000 and 2021, showing that global trends can differ substantially by economic setting.
These measures cover different concepts: cases describe disease occurrence or presence, new cases describe incidence, and DALYs combine premature mortality with years lived with disability. The global figures are modeled estimates and are not directly interchangeable with the U.S. survey and hospital measures below.
U.S. incidence, recurrence and stroke types
The CDC’s Stroke Facts page reports annual U.S. estimates drawn from cited American Heart Association or older survey evidence. The page reports the estimates in 2024, but the component measures do not share one measurement year.
| U.S. measure | Annual estimate or share |
|---|---|
| All strokes | More than 795,000 people |
| First or new strokes | About 610,000 |
| Recurrent strokes among people with a previous stroke | About 185,000 |
| Ischemic strokes | About 87% of strokes |
| Interval between strokes in the cited estimate | About 40 seconds |
| Interval between stroke deaths in the cited estimate | About 3 minutes 14 seconds |
The estimated total includes both first events and recurrent events. The CDC estimate therefore gives two complementary views of U.S. stroke scale: about 610,000 first or new strokes each year and about 185,000 strokes in people with a previous stroke. The cited estimate also indicates that about 87% of U.S. strokes are ischemic.
For mortality context, stroke caused 17.5% of U.S. cardiovascular-disease deaths in 2022. That is a share of cardiovascular-disease deaths, not a percentage of all U.S. deaths and not a risk estimate for an individual.
U.S. prevalence by age, race, sex and education
The CDC’s Prevalence of Stroke – Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2011-2022 reports age-standardized, self-reported doctor-diagnosed stroke among noninstitutionalized adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is a survey measure of reported prior diagnosis, not a count of all current cases.
Age-standardized self-reported prevalence rose from 2.7% in 2011–2013 to 2.9% in 2020–2022, a 7.8% relative increase. The age contrast in 2020–2022 was wide: prevalence was 7.7% among adults aged 65 and older compared with 0.9% among adults aged 18–44.
| Group or characteristic | Self-reported prevalence, 2020–2022 |
|---|---|
| Adults aged 65+ | 7.7% |
| Adults aged 18–44 | 0.9% |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults | 5.3% |
| Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander adults | 4.4% |
| Non-Hispanic Black adults | 4.3% |
| Non-Hispanic Asian adults | 1.6% |
| Less than a high-school diploma | 5.2% |
| College degree or higher | 1.7% |
The same survey reported relative increases between 2011–2013 and 2020–2022 among several groups. Prevalence increased 14.6% among adults aged 18–44 and 15.7% among adults aged 45–64. It increased 9.3% among women and 6.2% among men, and 16.1% among Hispanic or Latino adults.
State-level changes also differed. The District of Columbia recorded a 19.2% decrease over the period, while Ohio recorded a 20.9% increase. Because the BRFSS measure is self-reported and excludes institutionalized adults, these results should not be treated as a complete administrative prevalence census.
U.S. mortality trends and disparities
The CDC National Center for Health Statistics report Stroke Death Rates Among Adults Ages 45-64 by Region and Race and Hispanic Origin: United States, 2002-2022 uses underlying-cause stroke deaths coded with ICD-10 I60–I69. The rates below are deaths per 100,000 U.S. adults aged 45–64.
| Year or group | Stroke death rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| 2002, adults 45–64 | 23.9 |
| 2012, adults 45–64 | 20.2 |
| 2019, adults 45–64 | 21.7 |
| 2021, adults 45–64 | 24.4 |
| 2022, adults 45–64 | 23.9 |
| 2022, men aged 45–64 | 28.1 |
| 2022, women aged 45–64 | 19.7 |
| 2022, non-Hispanic Black men aged 45–64 in the South | 65.7 |
For adults aged 45–64, the rate fell from 23.9 per 100,000 in 2002 to 20.2 in 2012, then rose to 21.7 in 2019 and 24.4 in 2021, before reaching 23.9 in 2022. In 2022, the rate for men was higher than the rate for women, and the reported rate for non-Hispanic Black men aged 45–64 in the South was 65.7 per 100,000.
The CDC’s Stroke Facts page reports a U.S. stroke death-rate decrease from 39.5 per 100,000 in 2022 to 39.0 per 100,000 in 2023. These figures cover the U.S. population broadly, whereas the NCHS comparison above focuses on adults aged 45–64 and includes regional and race-specific rates.
Hospital care, emergency visits and short-term outcomes
The CDC report National Health Statistics Reports, Number 132, November 13, 2019 describes 2014 U.S. inpatient encounters with a first-listed stroke diagnosis. These hospital figures concern encounters, not unique people, and the report included reliability flags; unreliable estimates were omitted.
Among those 2014 inpatient discharges, 53.7% included an intensive-care-unit stay. The average inpatient stay was 5.4 days overall. It was 6.7 days when the encounter included ICU care and 3.9 days when it did not. For stroke encounters involving patients younger than 45, the average stay was 7.6 days.
| 2014 first-listed stroke encounter measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Discharges including ICU care | 53.7% |
| Average stay, all encounters | 5.4 days |
| Average stay with ICU care | 6.7 days |
| Average stay without ICU care | 3.9 days |
| Average stay for patients younger than 45 | 7.6 days |
The CDC’s FastStats – Cerebrovascular Disease or Stroke reports 686,000 U.S. emergency-department visits with stroke as the primary diagnosis in 2022. FastStats uses its cited national survey or vital-statistics source, so this emergency-department count should not be added to the annual stroke estimate as though it represented separate people.
Awareness, disability and economic costs
The CDC’s Stroke Facts page reports nearly $56.2 billion in U.S. stroke-related costs during 2019–2020, including health care, medicines and missed workdays. The figure is an estimate and covers a two-year period rather than one calendar year.
The same CDC source estimates that stroke reduces mobility in more than half of U.S. stroke survivors aged 65 and older. This is a functional-outcome measure for older survivors, not a percentage of all people who experience a stroke.
Awareness results also depend on the survey period and geography. In a 2005 survey covering 13 states and the District of Columbia, 93% of respondents recognized sudden one-sided numbness as a stroke symptom. Only 38% recognized all major stroke symptoms and knew to call 911. These are historical survey results and should not be presented as current national awareness.
The CDC also notes evidence that patients who reached an emergency room within 3 hours of first symptoms often had less disability 3 months later than patients who arrived later. The source describes this as evidence from a cited study population; it does not provide a universal outcome percentage.
Finally, CDC FastStats reports 166,852 U.S. stroke deaths and a rate of 49.1 per 100,000 for 2024. The measure is an observed national mortality figure, while the global totals, annual U.S. incidence figures, BRFSS prevalence results and 2019–2020 cost estimate use different populations, definitions and periods. These descriptive statistics are not medical advice.