Facts and figures
More than 56,000 strokes will be experienced by Australians this year – that is one stroke every nine minutes. (Please note this is new and recurrent strokes – a person may have more than one)
Source: Deloitte Access Economics – Stroke in Australia – No postcode untouched, 2017.
One in four people globally will have a stroke in their lifetime.
Source: GBD 2016 Lifetime Risk of Stroke Collaborators, Feigin VL et al. Global, Regional, and Country-Specific Lifetime Risks of Stroke, 1990 and 2016. N Engl J Med. 2018; 379(25):2429-2437.
More than 475,000 Australians are living with the effects of stroke. This is predicted to increase to one million by 2050.
Source: Deloitte Access Economics – Stroke in Australia – No postcode untouched, 2017.
Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018. Australia’s health 2018. Australia’s health series no. 16. AUS 221. Canberra: AIHW.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability in Australia.
Source: Ibid
Between 1980 and 2016, overall death rates for stroke in Australia fell by three-quarters.
Source: Ibid
More than 80 percent of strokes can be prevented.
Source: O’Donnell et al. "Global and regional effects of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with acute stroke in 32 countries (INTERSTROKE): a case-control study", Lancet 2016; 388: 761–75. Published Online July 15, 2016, doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30506-2
Research has shown eliminating high blood pressure in patients could reduce stroke incidence by an estimated 48 percent.
Source: Ibid
Four in 10 stroke survivors will go on to experience recurrent stroke within a decade.
Source: Hardie K et al. Ten-year risk of first recurrent stroke and disability after first-ever stroke in the Perth Community Stroke Study. Stroke 2004; 35(3): 731-5.
Around 25 percent of stroke survivors are of working age.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019. Cardiovascular disease in women. Cat. no. CDK 15. Canberra: AIHW.
Regional Australians are 19 percent more likely to experience a stroke. Regional Australians are also more likely to die or be left with serious disability because of stroke.
Source: Deloitte Access Economics – Stroke in Australia – No postcode untouched, 2017.
When a stroke strikes, it attacks up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute.
Source: Saver JL. Time is brain – quantified. Stroke 2006; 37(1): 263-6.
The FAST test is an easy way to recognise and remember the signs of stroke.
Using the FAST test involves asking these simple questions:
- Face – Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?
- Arms – Can they lift both arms?
- Speech – Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
- Time – Time is critical. If you see any of these signs, call 000 straight away.
