Field of Needs

troke is the single leading cause of severe disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States. 1 A large number of studies have evaluated the prevalence of stroke in various populations, and these studies have identified sex, age, race, uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking, and family history as significant risk factors. Of the 250 000 deaths each year due to the complications of untreated hypertension, one third are due to stroke, and blood pressure control is known to reduce the risk of stroke and stroke mortality. 2 However, these risk factors play different roles in the 2 major stroke types, hemorrhagic and infarctive, 3 infarctive being the more common type in the United States.