SHOCK COST OF STROKE

NEW figures from the Stroke Association reveal that the UK’s current annual cost of stroke is £26 billion; a threefold increase from the previous estimated cost of £9 billion.

The UK’s leading stroke charity is warning that, without immediate action, this figure is likely to triple to £75 billion by 2035.

Research from 2009 previously estimated that stroke cost UK society around £9 billion a year.

However, the Stroke Association’s latest report Current, future and avoidable costs of stroke suggests that informal costs to families and carers have been significantly underestimated.

The figures also predict that a growing and ageing population, increasing numbers of stroke survivors, and rising care costs are crucial factors behind the increasing financial burden of stroke over the next 20 years.

The £26 billion cost of stroke breaks down as: £1.6 billion in lost productivity £3.4 billion in NHS care £5.2 billion in formal social care £15.8 billion per year in informal care

The latest figures set the cost of stroke on a par with the financial burden of dementia, which costs the UK £26.3 billion each year.

Researchers now predict that in less than 20 years’ time, stroke could cost our country £75 billion every