Table 6-2.

Modifiable Stroke Risk Factors

Factor	Prevalence, %	Population- Attributable Risk, %*	RR
CVD
CHD143
Men	8.4	5.8†	1.73 (1.68–1.78)161
Women	5.6	3.9†	1.55 (1.17–2.07)162
Heart failure143
Men	2.6	1.4†
Women	2.1	1.1†
Peripheral arterial disease	4.9	3.0†
Hypertension144
Age 50 y	20	40	4.0
Age 60 y	30	35	3.0
Age 70 y	40	30	2.0
Age 80 y	55	20	1.4
Age 90 y	60	0	1.0
Cigarette smoking	25	12–18	1.8
Diabetes mellitus	7.3	5–27	1.8–6
Asymptomatic carotid stenosis	2–8148–154	2–7‡	2.0162
Atrial fibrillation (nonvalvular)145,146
Age 50–59 y	0.5	1.5	4.0
Age 60–69 y	1.8	2.8	2.6
Age 70–79 y	4.8	9.9	3.3
Age 80–89 y	8.8	23.5	4.5
Sickle cell disease	0.25 (of blacks)155		200–400163§
Dyslipidemia
High total cholesterol	25156	15	2.0 for men and for women <55 y of age
Low HDL cholesterol	25156	10	1.5–2.5 for men
Dietary factors
Na intake 2300 mg	75–90	Unknown	Unknown
K intake 4700 mg	90–99157	Unknown	Unknown
Obesity	17.9158	12–20†	1.75–2.37164,165
Physical inactivity147	25	30	2.7‡
Postmenopausal hormone therapy	20159 (women 50–74 y of age)160	7	1.463

RR indicates relative risk; CVD, cardiovascular disease; CHD, coronary heart disease; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.

Data derived from Hart et al^166,167 and van Walraven et al.¹⁶⁸ Stroke includes both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, heart failure, and peripheral arterial disease.

^*Population-attributable risk is the proportion of ischemic stroke in the population that can be attributed to a particular risk factor (see text for formula).

^†Calculated on the basis of point estimates of referenced data provided in the table. For peripheral arterial disease, calculation was based on average relative risk for men and women.

^‡Calculated based on referenced data provided in the table or text.

^§Relative to stroke risk in children without sickle cell disease.

Adapted from Goldstein et al.¹⁶⁹