Stroke

Stroke

Stroke was the second most common cause of death worldwide in 2004, resulting in 5.7 million deaths (~10% of the total). Approximately 9 million people had a stroke in 2008 and 30 million people have previously had a stroke and are still alive. It is ranked after heart disease and before cancer. Geographic disparities in stroke incidence have been observed, including the existence of a "stroke belt" in the southeastern United States, but causes of these disparities have not been explained.

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Famous quotes containing the word stroke:

    I believe that Harmon would be the easiest to defeat, though he might gain much strength from the Republicans. Clark would surely lose New York. I am beginning to feel that by some stroke of genius they may name Woodrow Wilson, and that seems a pretty hard tussle.
    William Howard Taft (1857–1930)

    All I have to do
    is hear his name
    and every hair on my body
    just bristles with desire.
    When I see
    the moon of his face,
    this frame of mine
    oozes sweat like a moonstone.
    When that man
    as dear to me as breath
    steps close enough to me
    to stroke my neck,
    the thought of jealousy
    is shattered in my heart
    that’s hard as diamond
    sometimes.
    Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)

    As the artist
    extends his world with
    one gratuitous flourish—a stroke of white or
    a run on the clarinet above the
    bass tones of the orchestra ...
    Denise Levertov (b. 1923)