A: Annually about 800,000 Americans have a stroke; over 600,000 for the first time, the rest are repeat strokes. Stroke is the fifth most common cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and almost as common as accidental deaths, causing one of every 20 deaths, over 130,000 per year. Stroke is the most common acute cause of loss of ability to live independently. A stroke occurs when some brain cells cease to [...]