Stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Urgent Call For Prevention

According to the latest WHO statistics, 1,2 cerebrovascular disease is responsible for 10.8% of total deaths and 3.1% of the burden of disease worldwide. Ageadjusted stroke mortality rates and disabilityadjusted life-years loss rates are 3.5-fold and 3.8-fold higher in low-income countries than in middleincome and high-income countries. With the demographic and epidemiologic shifts now occurring in many developing countries, increased prevalence of risk factors for stroke are anticipated, including hypertension, tobacco use, obesity, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and diabetes. A recent systematic review of worldwide stroke incidence showed that stroke incidence has declined by 42% in highincome countries over the 4 decades from 1970 -1979 to 2000 -2008. 4 During the same period, stroke incidence rose more than 100% in low-to middle-income countries.