Stroke Facts
- Stroke is the 4th Leading cause of DEATH
- Nearly 800,000 Americans will suffer this year alone and 30% of these individuals will be permanently disabled
- Every 40 seconds one more person is added to the list of 6.4 Million Americans suffering from this leading cause of serious long term disability
- The estimated cost of care for patients with stroke in 2010 was $73 billion and is expected to cross $2 Trillion by 2050
Stroke in Our Community
Stroke has a devastating impact within our local community. Over the next 3 years it is estimated that there will be 3000 annual stroke admissions to Rochester area hospitals.
- 1/3rd of these will be < 65 years of age
- 15% of these patients will die of their Stroke
- 20% of these patients will need help walking
- >50% of these patients will not be able to return to work at all
- >70% of these patients will not be able to return to their previous job
- ONLY ABOUT 5% OF PATIENTS WILL BE TREATED WITH THE ONLY FDA APPROVED DRUG FOR STROKE
- Monroe and surrounding counties will expend >$149 million for direct medical care and rehabilitation costs for stroke patients.
Numerous opportunities exist to decrease the physical, social and economic impact of this disease.
- Although each of the 4 hospitals in the city of Rochester are designated primary stroke centers, stroke care in the community remains fragmented across disparate and competing health care systems and individual providers.
- In a national survey nearly 43% of adults did not know a single risk factor for stroke contributing to delayed recognition of stroke symptoms
- There remains uneven patient access to physicians with subspecialty expertise in stroke, especially during the first few critical hours after stroke onset.
- There is a lack of standardized protocols for evaluation treatment and transfer of patients with stroke/TIA across institutions
- There is an absence of a structured and unified mechanism for patient follow up and sharing of outcomes across institutions.
The Stroke Treatment Alliance of Rochester (STAR) a consortium of neurology/neurosurgery faculty from across the city of Rochester seeks to overcome institutional barriers in helping to promote timely, comprehensive and effective care to all patients with stroke in our community.