Defining the impact of prevention and improved management upon stroke mortality

Stroke mortality in developed countries has significantly declined. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a cross-sectional model of aging and mortality with which the impact of prevention and improved management upon stroke mortality can be quantified. Stroke mortality in the U.S. between 1951 and 1988 among whites aged 20-85 years was analyzed using the Strehler-Mildvan modification of the Gompertz relationship between aging and mortality. Between 1951 and 1988, environmental (non-genetic) influences upon U.S. stroke mortality declined 16.4% among white men and 22.16% among white women. Cross-sectional mortality analysis may be necessary to eliminate the effect of differential survival bias inherent in cohort mortality analysis.