Stroke prevention and control in Brazil: missed opportunities

everal studies have shown that stroke has a huge global impact with a considerable financial cost both to health and care services and to patients and their families. Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability in Latin America and the Caribbean 1 . Brazil presents the fourth worst stroke mortality rate among these countries with an early in-hospital stroke mortality rate of 34.3% which is high when compared to the rates in Canada (6.9%) or the Netherlands (17.3%) 2 . Stroke mortality varies considerably according to social and economic development and about 85% of strokes occur in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) with one third affecting the economically active population A recent publication from the Global Burden of Disease Collaborators has shown that stroke is among the three main causes of years of life lost in Brazil 5 . The demographic transition occurring in most developing countries towards an increase of the older population will amplify the impact of stroke.