In 2017, 67.5% of U.S. adults had knowledge of the five signs and symptoms of stroke and the immediate need to call emergency medical services, according to research published in the Nov. 6 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Sandra L. Jackson, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues assessed prevalence of the knowledge of the five signs and symptoms of stroke and the immediate need to call emergency medical services (recommended stroke knowledge) among 26,076 adults aged 20 years and older as part of the 2017 National Health Interview Survey.

The researchers found that the prevalence of recommended stroke knowledge was 67.5 percent among U.S. adults. There was a significant difference in stroke knowledge by race and Hispanic origin, with the highest prevalence among non-Hispanic whites, followed by non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanic adults (71.3%, 64.0%, and 57.8%, respectively). Significant differences in stroke knowledge were also seen by sex, age, education, and urbanicity; these differences remained significant after multivariable adjustment.

"Focused public health efforts, community engagement, innovative strategies to tailor messaging, and continued advances in clinical care and coordination might help address stalled declines in stroke mortality," the authors write. "Increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke continues to be a national priority, and estimates from this report might be used to inform communication strategies."