Cerbrovascular Disease and Upper-Extremity Vascular Disease

In each calendar year, nearly 500,000 people in the United States suffer cerebral infarctions; in 175,000 patients, the strokes are fatal, and the remaining patients experience variable disability. The emotional and economic consequences of advanced cerebrovascular disease are staggering; the cost of care and loss of earnings secondary to permanent disability or death have been estimated at more than $10 billion annually.