Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Stroke

The death rate from stroke in the United States has declined by 50 percent over the past decade, the evidence pointing to a reduction in the incidence of stroke as the responsible factor, not improved survival after stroke. The striking decrease in the mortality rate over this brief span suggests that modifiable environmental factors are important in the occurrence of stroke. Central to the decline in stroke mortality has been the identification of hypertension as the principal risk factor for stroke, whether due to hemorrhage or infarction, and the demonstration in controlled clinical trials that treatment of hypertension reduces the . . .