STROKES BY THE NUMBERS

Stroke is the third-biggest killer in New Zealand after heart disease and cancer.

About 9000 people have a stroke each year; more than 2500 die. About 15% of stroke survivors are institutionalised.

There are an estimated 60,000 stroke survivors in New Zealand. Up to half of cases can be treated with clot-busting drugs if the patient reaches hospital within four and a half hours of the stroke’s onset. Lifetime costs per stroke patient in New Zealand were estimated in 2009 at $73,600, with a total cost to the country of more than $450 million a year.