An international Commission by The Lancet Neurology in collaboration with the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) and the World Health Organisation to understand and tackle the global burden of stroke predicts that by 2050 there will be a 50 per cent increase in stroke deaths and a 30 per cent increase in stroke-associated disability worldwide.
Stroke was the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability (which includes depression and dementia) in 2020. The burden of disability after a stroke is increasing faster in low-income and middle-income countries.
The absolute number of people affected by stroke has almost doubled in the past 30 years, and the incidence rate of stroke in people younger than 55 years is increasing.
The work of the Commission began seven years ago, and its in-depth findings have been published in The Lancet Neurology, the world’s leading clinical neurology journal.
To help mitigate the enormous burden of stroke, The Lancet Neurology Commission’s expert collaborators have offered practical recommendations.
Their roadmap aimed at achieving substantial improvements is across four pillars: surveillance, prevention, acute care and rehabilitation, with emphasis on the need to involve all clinicians, health providers, policymakers and researchers working to combat the rising burden of stroke.
Distinguished neurologist Professor Graeme Hankey, Perron Institute Chair of Stroke Research at The University of Western Australia, is a member of the WSO–Lancet Neurology Commission Steering Committee and writing group, and the WSO Implementation Task Force on Stroke.
“The predicted trajectory for the impact of stroke on global health and its economy is alarming,” Professor Hankey said. “However, as the international commission found, there are opportunities to reduce the burden of stroke, particularly in parts of the world where the required resources are lacking.
“Implementing primary and secondary stroke prevention strategies and evidence-based acute care and rehabilitation services is urgently needed, along with frameworks to monitor and assess the burden of stroke at national levels.
“Among other recommended measures are prevention strategies for people at risk of cerebrovascular disease, with an emphasis on early detection and control of high blood pressure.