National data and media company Stacker has compiled a list of the top fifty counties in Georgia where stroke is most prevalent.  Chattooga County ranks number 49 on the list. 

Stacker used CDC data to list the counties in Georgia with the highest prevalence of stroke. Data is based on estimates compiled by the CDC, with the confidence range included for each county. Additional data on death rates between 2018 and 2020 for the two most common types of strokes, ischemic and hemorrhagic, are also included for each county. In cases of a tie, the ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke death rates are used as tiebreakers.

Randolph County in Southwest Georgia ranked the highest on the list for the county with the most stroke prevalence.  Chattooga County was the only county in Northwest Georgia to make the top-fifty list.

Read more about stroke and stroke prevention below:

For more than a century, strokes have been a leading cause of death among U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The sudden cerebrovascular event affects nearly 800,000 Americans annually and is also a leading cause of disability.

The tragedy of the nation’s stroke rate is amplified by the fact that most strokes are preventable. Four out of five strokes are preventable, according to the CDC.

Annual check-ins with a physician can help track risk factors including high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading cause of stroke, and it can be caused by overconsumption of salty foods, drinking alcohol, smoking, stress, and genetics. High blood pressure has less obvious symptoms, but people can regularly track their metrics using at-home blood pressure cuffs to know if they need to talk to their doctor sooner than scheduled. The American Heart Association has recommendations for which readings require medical intervention.