http://www.cspinet.org/nah/09_01

Would you recognize a stroke if you saw one? Most people couldn't, according to a recent study by Arthur Pancioli of the University of Cincinnati.1 And people over 75-who are at greater risk-did worse than average.  "Only 57 percent could identify one warning sign, 25 percent could name two, and eight percent could name three," says Pancioli

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http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/pressrelease_stroke_symptoms_042198 htm?type=archived

In interviews with more than 1,800 individuals in the greater Cincinnati area only slightly more than half could list at least one stroke symptom and only 68 percent could name one stroke risk factor. The study, led by Arthur Pancioli, M.D., and Joseph Broderick, M.D., of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), will appear in the April 22, 1998, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).* The study was conducted between March and September 1995 through telephone interviews in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. This region has a large biracial population and is similar to the U.S. population in age, gender, annual income, and percentage of African-Americans. One of the most striking findings reported by the investigators was that the respondents older than 75, the highest risk group for stroke, knew the least about stroke. While 60 percent of the participants under age 75 could identify one stroke symptom and 72 percent could name one risk factor, only 47 percent of those in the older group could identify one symptom of stroke and only 56 percent could name one stroke risk factor.

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JAMA Abstract by same author http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v279n16/abs/joc72130.html

Results. Telephone calls were made to 17634 households, which yielded 2642 demographically eligible individuals. Interviews were completed by 1880 respondents (response rate, 71.2%). A total of 1066 respondents (57%) correctly listed at least 1 of the 5 established stroke warning signs, and of all respondents, 1274 (68%) correctly listed at least 1 of the established stroke risk factors. Of the respondents, 469 (57%) of 818 respondents with a history of hypertension listed hypertension, 142 (35%) of 402 respondents who were current smokers listed smoking, and 32 (13%) of 255 respondents with diabetes listed diabetes as a risk factor for stroke.