Commonwealth Center of Excellence in Stroke
About Stroke in Kentucky

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Sanders-Brown Center on Aging

Establishment of the Commonwealth Center for Excellence in Stroke in 1987 was timely because of the immense need for advanced stroke care services among Kentuckians, many of whom reside in non-urban environments. Stroke mortality in Kentucky frequently exceeds the national average by more than 10%, and Kentucky is routinely numbered among the states constituting the "Stroke Belt" defined by the Centers for Disease Control. Certain counties within Eastern Kentucky, the primary referral area for the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, have annual stroke mortality rates that are more than twice the national average.

In 2002, stroke killed 2,554 Kentuckians for an age-adjusted mortality rate of 63.5 per 100,000 population (National Vital Statistics Reports 2004;53:90). Although the rate of stroke has fallen by 10% in the last 35 years, it is still the third-leading cause of death in Kentucky, exceeded only by heart disease and cancer (Kentucky Annual Vital Statistics Report 1997). In 2002, Kentucky's age-adjusted death rate for stroke was 11th in the nation (National Vital Statistics Reports 2004;53:90)

The map below shows Kentucky's age-adjusted average annual death rates from stroke for each 100,000 population age 35 or older between 1991-1998. Information is from the Centers for Disease Control.

This map reflects an average death rate for stroke of 133 adults for each 100,000 compared to the national rate of 121 deaths per 100,000.

Smoking and a sedentary lifestyle are more prevalent in Kentucky than in the nation as a whole and contribute to the high stroke rate in Kentucky (Kentucky Epidemiologic Notes and Reports, February 1997). According to the Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, in 2005 28.2% of Kentuckians had high blood pressure and 38.1% of those screened had high blood cholesterol. In 2006, 9.9% of Kentuckians had diabetes, 28.5% were current smokers, 66.4% were overweight or obese and 31% reported no exercise in the last 30 days.