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Stroke
     
What is it:    
A stroke occurs when either the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or a blood vessel in the brain bursts, causing damage to a part of the brain. A stroke is also sometimes called a brain attack.

Who has it:
6 Million Americans (3.4 million women and 2.3 million men).
According to research conducted by Harvard researchers, women who are obese or who gain a substantial amount of weight during their adult years (greater than 44 pounds since age 18) more than double their risk of the most common type of stroke. According to research conducted by the Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, strokes are 93 percent more common in men with BMIs of 30 or more than they were in men with low BMIs–between 20 and 22.5. When other risk factors like age, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes were taken into account; the heaviest men had nearly four times the risk of stroke. Researchers also found that every 1-point increase in BMI boosted the risk of a later stroke by 5 percent.

Consequences:
Stroke accounts for one in every 16 deaths in the United States, making it the third leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Among survivors, stroke can cause significant disability including paralysis as well as speech and emotional problems. $66 billion – the projected direct and indirect cost of stroke in the United States for 2008. The mean lifetime cost of ischemic stroke in the United States is estimated at $140,048. This includes inpatient care, rehabilitation and follow–up care necessary for lasting deficits.