Strokes remain a major cause of death and disability and are rising among younger people, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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A look at the number of strokes people experience worldwide demonstrates just what a big problem they are, with more people in the 18 to 50 year old cohort now having strokes domestically. That’s according to stroke expert Michele Johansen at Johns Hopkins.

Johansen: When we think about stroke globally it’s the second cause of death. The good news is that in the United States, stroke incidence and prevalence and mortality have declined, from about 1990 to 2017, which is our latest data, we know that incidence and prevalence have gone down. We’re doing a little bit better with prevention of stroke. The bad news, however, is that when you look specifically at the younger adult, we find that there’s increasing incidence of stroke. So we’re having increasing numbers of strokes that are happening in a younger adult.  :32

Johansen says the causes of this rise in strokes among younger people are multiple, with researchers actively seeking to identify all the factors and develop interventions to help. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.