About 795,000 Americans each year suffer a new or recurrent stroke. That means, on average, a stroke occurs every 40 seconds.

Stroke kills more than 143,000 people a year. That's about 1 of every 17 deaths. It's the No. 3 cause of death behind diseases of the heart and cancer.

On average, every 3 to 4 minutes someone dies of stroke.

Of every 5 deaths from stroke, 2 occur in men and 3 in women.

The 2005 stroke death rates per 100,000 population for specific groups were 44.7 for white males, 44.0 for white females, 70.5 for black males and 60.7 for black females.

Americans will pay about $68.9 billion in 2009 for stroke-related medical costs and disability.

For more statistics about stroke, see our latest update on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics.

This content is reviewed regularly. Last updated 02/10/09.