Stroke Distribution in North Carolina

The public health burden of stroke is considerable in North Carolina relative to other areas of the country.

• North Carolina has the 4th highest stroke mortality rate in the nation.
• The North Carolina stroke mortality rate is 23% higher than the national stroke mortality rate.
• In 2002, stroke caused 5,236 deaths in North Carolina.
• North Carolina is a part of the Stroke Belt, an area that has substantially higher stroke death rates than the rest of the nation.
• Stroke costs North Carolina an estimated 1.05 billion dollars annually.

Stroke death rates in North Carolina declined less than 1% per year between 1990 and 2000, but have since declined by 6 % per year between 2000 and 2002 (Figure 1). North Carolina's stroke death rate is still well above the national rate and the state will need to maintain a 3.7% annual decline to reach the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Healthy People 2010 Target . The highest stroke rates within the state are found mainly in the eastern counties (Figure 2). The high burden of stroke and stroke mortality in North Carolina heightened efforts to implement a statewide Acute Stroke Registry.