Every Day Is a World Stroke Day

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and more people die because of stroke than because of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria put together. However, the heaviest burden incurred by stroke is not death but severe disability of which stroke is the leading cause. The panorama gets even darker because 85% of all strokes occur in developing countries1,2 with limited resources for stroke care. This means that the majority of stroke patients do not have access to stroke unit care, rehabilitation, and evidence-based secondary prevention. The most effective way to reduce the burden of stroke is primary and secondary prevention, and we know the risk factors for stroke. The same 10 risk factors are associated with 90% of the risk of stroke in high-, middle-, and low-income countries.3 For most of them there are effective therapies, so why is it that what we know does not translate into what we do?The World Stroke Day (WSD) aims at reducing the burden of stroke. The theme for the year 2010 is: One in Six: Act Now! underlining the fact that 1 in 6 people experience a stroke during his/her lifetime. Stroke is a common disorder. Every other second someone experiences a stroke and every sixth second someone dies of a stroke. Stroke spares no age, sex, ethnic origin, or country—it …