The Black Health Library Guide to Stroke.

Usually when we think of a stroke victim, we picture an elderly person unable to utter a word and virtually paralyzed. But as Dr. LaFayette Singleton, a Chicago neurologist, and writer Kirk A. Johnson note in The Black Health Library Guide to Stroke, this may be one of the most misunderstood diseases. Strokes usually happen to the elderly, but middleaged and young adults can also be stricken.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States (after heart disease and cancer) and the No. 1 cause of disability in adults. While the incidence of stroke is declining overall, African-Americans are particularly vulnerable, and still have one of the highest stroke rates in the world.

Stroke is one of four books in The Black Health Library Series, health guides written expressly for African-Americans. The other books in the series, edited by Linda Villarosa (senior editor at Essence), deal with heart disease and hypertension, diabetes and obesity. All are meticulously researched and written for the lay reader.

Despite the advances of modern medicine, African-Americans suffer disproportionately from a number of illnesses and die at younger ages than whites. Prevention is the best medicine. As African-Americans, we must take charge of our health.