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Mysterious "Stroke
Belt" to Get Help from New Initiative
Seven Leading States in Stroke Deaths Get $2
Million
Aug. 6, 2004 - It's not known why, but a group of
states in the southeast U.S.
-- Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Tennessee - lead all others in the incidents of stroke
death. Health and Human Services has announced a new $2 million
initiative aimed at reducing the excessively high rates.
The Stroke Belt Elimination Initiative (SBEI) awards
approximately $8 million over four years within these seven states
experiencing the highest stroke death rates. The three grant recipients
are: Forsyth Medical Center Foundation, Winston- Salem, N.C; Medical
University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.; and the University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala. These institutions along with
local community-based organizations will implement and coordinate
prevention and awareness programs locally and across the region
targeting stroke and hypertension, according to the announcement
yesterday by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.
As of 2001, the average stroke death rate for the seven core stroke
belt states was significantly higher than the U.S. national average or
that of the 43 remaining states and the District of Columbia (about 22
percent and 26 percent higher respectively). The specific cause of
excess stroke deaths in the Stroke Belt continues to be unknown.
The overall burden of stroke in the U.S. continues to be substantial.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of
long-term disability among U.S. adults. On average, someone living in
the U.S. has a stroke about every 45 seconds. There are over 700,000 new
strokes annually and about 29 percent of these are recurrent strokes.
Over 4.8 million adults had a history of stroke in 2001. Stroke events
are estimated to generate over $53.6 billion in direct and indirect
costs in 2004.
High blood pressure and hypertension are the leading risk factor for
stroke. Over 70 percent of persons with a stroke also suffer from
hypertension. Critical risk factors also include diabetes, excess weight
or salt intake, physical inactivity and smoking.
"The southeastern region of the country has suffered from the burden of
stroke for far too long," Secretary Thompson said. "Through our Stroke
Belt Elimination Initiative we will increase hypertension prevention and
control activities to eliminate untimely deaths and disability."
While HHS will continue its current high-level efforts to reduce stroke
across the U.S., the SBEI is designed to reduce the overall stroke
burden among the population that lives in the "Stroke Belt" states.
The SBEI represents a collaborative effort among HHS agencies and is
part of the Closing the Health Gap Initiative, which seeks to reduce
racial and ethnic disparities in health care. The SBEI consists of four
core interventions including development and implementation of a
community-wide awareness and education campaign, a communications
network that informs individuals of the availability of free blood
pressure screening activities, a component for health professionals that
emphasizes improvement of blood pressure control rates for persons with
hypertension, and a component for health systems and health plans that
emphasizes improvement of blood pressure control rates for persons with
hypertension.
"This SBEI is truly a community focused initiative and an important part
of our effort to end health disparities," said HHS Deputy Secretary
Claude A. Allen. "Through collaboration SBEI will establish activities
that identify local partners and coalitions so that we can together
eliminate this deadly killer."
Additional information on the Stroke Belt Elimination Initiative is
available at
http://www.omhrc.gov/omh/whatsnew/2pgwhatsnew/funding716faq.htm.
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