TIA incidence and prevalence: the Stroke Belt perspective.

Abstract

A 12-state area in the southeastern United States (figure) has been dubbed the “stroke belt” because there is excess stroke mortality in this region for both black and white Americans.1 There is heterogeneity of stroke mortality in this geographic area, with the highest rates being reported in a 153-county area of the coastal plain states of Georgia and the Carolinas. The precise reason for this excess has been a topic of debate and controversy.2 More recently, it has been observed that the stroke belt may be breaking up as excess rates of stroke mortality spread into the lower Mississippi Valley3 and possibly into the northwestern United States.4 This section of the supplement reviews the prevalence of TIA based on reports from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study5 and a study conducted in Evans County, Georgia.6 Figure. The “Stroke Belt” in the southeastern United States is composed of 11 states, part of another (southern Indiana*), and the District of Columbia. (Map/inset design and concept contributed by Michael McClain, Art Director, and Fred Balzac, Editor, of Chase Medical Communications, Wilton, CT, USA, based in part on a map provided by the National Stroke Association.) The ARIC Study is a prospective study of independent-living adults 45 to 64 years of age in Forsyth, North Carolina, Jackson, Mississippi, suburban …