(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) The citizens of the State of Arkansas are entitled to the maximum protection which is practicable from the effects of strokes;(2) Each year about seven hundred thousand (700,000) Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke;(3) On average, a stroke strikes someone every forty-five (45) seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every three and one-tenth (3.1) minutes;(4) Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about four million seven hundred thousand (4,700,000) stroke survivors alive today;(5) Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, causing fifty-seven and seven-tenths (57.7) deaths per one hundred thousand (100,000) population; and(6) In Arkansas, the death rate from stroke is seventy-five and nine-tenths (75.9) per one hundred thousand (100,000), the highest in the nation.
(1) The citizens of the State of Arkansas are entitled to the maximum protection which is practicable from the effects of strokes;
(2) Each year about seven hundred thousand (700,000) Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke;
(3) On average, a stroke strikes someone every forty-five (45) seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every three and one-tenth (3.1) minutes;
(4) Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about four million seven hundred thousand (4,700,000) stroke survivors alive today;
(5) Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, causing fifty-seven and seven-tenths (57.7) deaths per one hundred thousand (100,000) population; and
(6) In Arkansas, the death rate from stroke is seventy-five and nine-tenths (75.9) per one hundred thousand (100,000), the highest in the nation.