Consider the following statistics regarding strokes:

• Stroke is the third largest cause of death, ranking behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer.
  
  
• Strokes kill more than 158,000 Americans each year.
  
  
• Almost every 45 seconds in the United States, a person experiences a stroke.
  
  
• More than 5.5 million Americans live today with the effects of a stroke.
  
  
• The American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, estimates strokes cost the US nearly $54 billion a year.