Stroke and Asian Americans

Overall, Asian American adults are about 20 percent less likely than white adults to die from a stroke (cerebrovascular disease).
In general, Asian American adults have lower rates of being overweight or obese, lower rates of hypertension, and they are less likely to be current cigarette smokers, all risk factors for having a stroke (cerebrovascular disease).

Diagnosed Cases of Stroke

Age-adjusted percentage of stroke among persons 18 years of age and over, 2018
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
2.7	2.7	1.0

Source: CDC 2020. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-1a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

Age-adjusted stroke death rates per 100,000 (2017)
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	32.1	36.0	0.8
Women	28.7	36.0	0.8
Total	30.3	36.4	0.8

Source: CDC 2019. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 68, No. 9. Table 10.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf [PDF | 1.76MB]

There are several risk factors related to stroke. Some of these risk factors are:

Obesity and Overweight – See Obesity and Asian Americans
Hypertension – See Heart Disease and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
High Cholesterol – See Heart disease and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Cigarette Smoking – See Heart disease and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Last Edited: 06/09/2025