The Community Medicine of Cerebrovascular Disease

We now know enough about the incidence rates of cerebrovascular disease in different age groups in the U.S.A. to estimate the number of new cases occurring in mainly white communities in the coming years. Our information on nonwhite incidence is less secure, although rough estimates are possible. Prevalence figures are also known, but give less help in planning future programs. Medical care and hospital programs have given figures which show many deficiencies in our current arrangements for care. A tentative list of risk factors should encourage wider efforts to show whether primary prevention is truly possible. More extensive diagnostic examinations, more specific methods of treatment, and earlier and wider attempts at rehabilitation will improve the fate and quality of existence of future stroke patients. Shorter-trained personnel will help extend good care to a greater proportion of all patients, but not without upsetting some cherished beliefs of health professionals. We should resist the temptation to concentrate on collecting more data, and act now to eradicate neglect from this large problem in community medicine.