RTH Stroke Foundation

The mission of the RTH Stroke Foundation is to eliminate stroke whenever and wherever possible. People suffer 795,000 strokes in the U.S. every year, 144,000 of which result in death. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death, and although most strokes occur to people 65 or older, stroke can attack people of any age or gender.But experts in vascular medicine say that fully eight out of every ten strokes can be prevented. That means we have it in our power to reduce the annual incidence of stroke from 795,000 to less than 160,000, The key is awareness. Only a fraction of the American population understands the lifestyle and medical steps they need to take to keep them out of the high-risk stroke pool. Fewer than one in five can recognize the symptoms of a stroke at its onset.The RTH Stroke Foundation aggressively pursues this under informed segment of our population. Every year we hold free stroke awareness seminars for several thousand attendees at which experts in the field explain what people have to do to reduce the likelihood of stroke. We conduct free diagnostic screenings for aneurysms, blood pressure, carotid narrowing and cholesterol. These screenings identify people at various stages of risk, including some whose lives may have been literally saved because they had no idea that they had an aneurysm or a severely restricted carotid. And we hold free monthly stroke support meetings to help stroke victims, their families and caregivers learn how to adjust to the stroke victim's new normal.The quest to reduce the incidence of stroke so drastically may seem Quixotic to some, but not to us. It's the reason we come to work every day.