The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report a couple of years ago that shows that the risk of stroke is increasing among younger people. Between 2005 and 2008, the incidence of stroke in people age 15 to 44 increased by about 33 percent. Stroke, the leading cause of serious, long-term disability, is not just for old folks anymore.
In Milwaukee County, CDC data for 2000-2006 shows that 104 out of every 1,000 residents age 35+ suffered a stroke each year. During that same time period but looking at stroke victims over 65, the CDC reports that 31 percent are discharged to a care facility and 13 percent died within 30 days of leaving the hospital.
Alan Olson writes this web-log to provide helpful information regarding long-term disability cases. He practices long-term disability law throughout the United States from his offices in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Attorney Olson may be contacted at [email protected] with questions about the information posted here or for advice on specific disability benefit claims.
Worldwide, stroke kills one person every 6 seconds. Here in the U.S., someone has a stroke every 40 seconds. Nationwide, the incidence of stroke hospitalizations for men age 15 to 34 jumped 51 percent between 1994 and 2007. For women, the increase was 17 percent, significant but less startling.
This all may just look like a bunch of numbers, but it’s important to remember that there are real people — the victims, their families, their work colleagues — behind each statistic. What we cannot tell from the data is the impact a stroke has on everyone involved.
Medical professionals stress that the stroke is, indeed, debilitating. It’s also preventable, and that could lead to insurance coverage issues — especially as both the incidence of stroke and the cost of health care increase.
We’ll continue this in our next post.
Source: ReporterNews.com, “More young people hospitalized for stroke,” Kimberly Gray, Nov. 13, 2011
