Iranians Suffer More Strokes Earlier

According to a new study that followed more than 450,000 Iranian adults, researchers found that 624 suffered a first-ever stroke over one year. When the researchers adjusted the figures to compare against a number of Western countries, they found that Iranians' stroke rate was substantially higher.

The overall rate among Iranian men and women aged 45 to 84 was 743 strokes per 100,000 persons. That compared with rates ranging between 200 and 400 per 100,000 in most of the other countries assessed in the study, including the UK, Italy, Greece, Australia and Sweden.

Although the elderly had by far the highest rates of stroke across nations, Iranians showed a higher risk than Westerners starting between the ages of 45 and 54.

“Essentially, Iranians were suffering strokes a decade earlier than their counterparts in Western countries” said Dr. Mahmoud Reza Azarpazhooh, of Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran.

Only Ukraine had a higher stroke rate than Iran.