Stroke death toll will rise by two-thirds and triple the NHS bill over the next 20 years, experts say

STROKES will claim 187,000 victims a year by 2035 — an increase of almost two-thirds on today’s figures.

The surge could see the annual NHS bill for treatment triple to £10billion.

But experts say 114,000 of those 187,000 strokes will be avoidable if the NHS improves prevention.

The Stroke Association warned that the UK was “sleep-walking towards a crisis”.

It called for better treatment for the two biggest triggers, high blood pressure and a heart disorder called atrial fibrillation (AF).

That causes an irregular and sometimes very fast heartbeat.

Forty per cent of the eight million adults diagnosed with high blood pressure are on the wrong treatment. Up to five million more are not aware they have the condition.

Half the diagnosed 850,000 AF patients are on the wrong drugs.

The charity’s Dominic Brand said: “The fact is that most strokes are preventable.”

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Stroke is the third biggest killer after heart disease and cancer. It is the biggest cause of disability.

The rising NHS bill was forecast by Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Economics.