Our mission...

Young Stroke advocates the needs of those who experienced stroke between the ages of 18 and 65.

Statement of Need

Although stroke is globally identified as an affliction of old age, more than a quarter of the people who survive stroke are under the age of sixty-five according to the World Health Organization. Punctuated by America's present epidemic of obesity and escalating rates of hypertension and diabetes, these figures continue to increase.

The Young Stroke Project

The Young Stroke Project seeks to document the experience of young stroke survivors and to identify their unmet needs. Phase I will focus upon the region of the Stroke Buckle; Phase II will extend to the Stroke Belt.

Stroke Belt and Stroke Buckle

The deeply colored southern states east of the Mississippi Valley are referred to as "Stroke Belt" because stroke death rates are radically higher than in the rest of the country.

This 8-12 state region is typically defined to include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana,South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Additionally, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are often included.

Source: Centers for Disease Control

Within the stroke belt, the highest stroke death rates are clustered in the coastal plains regions of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This region is referred to as the "Stroke Buckle."

The stroke death rate in the Stroke Buckle is two times greater than the rest of the nation, affecting both men and women, blacks and whites. The pattern of excess stroke death rates in the Stroke Buckle has existed due to unknown causes for least fifty years.

Source: Tri-State Stroke Network