Do Your Patients Know the Signs of Stroke? One-Third of US Adults Do Not

Only two-thirds of US adults had the recommended knowledge of stroke signs and symptoms in 2017, according to a new report published in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report evidenced sociodemographic and related disparities in knowledge of the symptoms of stroke—the fifth leading cause of death among Americans.

“Increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke continues to be a national priority. Estimates from this report might be used to inform communication strategies that improve awareness and reduce disparities,” the authors of the report wrote.

They arrived at their conclusion after analyzing data on “recommended stroke knowledge” from 26,076 adults aged 20 years or older who participated in the 2017 National Health Interview Survey.

The results of the analysis indicated that recommended stroke knowledge had a prevalence of 67.5% among adults in the United States. When examined by race/ethnicity, the prevalence of recommended stroke knowledge was 71.3% among non-Hispanic White adults, 64.0% among non-Hispanic Black adults, and 57.8% among Hispanic adults. The authors also noted significant differences in stroke knowledge based on sex, age, urbanicity, and education. Awareness was high for calling 9-1-1 when noticing the signs and symptoms of stroke, with a prevalence of 96.3%.

When analyzing knowledge of individual stroke signs and symptoms, the prevalence for each was determined to be:

• 94.4% for facial, arm, leg, or side numbness
• 93.6% for confusion or difficulty speaking
• 90.8% for difficulty walking
• 83.5% for sudden difficulty seeing
• 76.5% for severe headache of sudden onset

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
Jackson SL, Legvold B, Vahratian A, et al. Sociodemographic and geographic variation in awareness of stroke signs and symptoms among adults — United States, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69:1617-1621. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6944a1