Introduction: the burden of stroke has been projected to increase for developing countries, but data are limited, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
This necessitated this study to determine the stroke prevalence in a semi urban community in middle-belt region of Nigeria. Methods: a twophase
door-to-door study was performed in three semi-urban communities of Kwara state; in the first phase 12,992 residents were screened and
probable stroke cases were identified by trained health care workers. In the second phase individuals adjudged to be positive for stroke were
screened with a stroke-specific questionnaire and made to undergo a complete neurological examination by a neurologist. Stroke diagnosis was
based on clinical evaluation using WHO criteria. Results: out of the numbers that were screened, 18 probable stroke cases were identified in the
first stage, and of these, 17 fulfilled WHO criteria for stroke, giving a crude prevalence rate of 1.31/1000 population. The prevalence of stroke was
higher among the males than the females (1.54/1000 vs. 1.08/1000) with a ratio 1.4: 1. Sixteen subjects (94.1%) had one or more risk factors for
stroke. Uncontrolled systemic hypertension (82.4%) was the commonest risk factors for stroke followed by transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
(41.2%). Conclusion: stroke is a condition that is prevalent in our environment; especially in older adults and men. Uncontrolled systemic
hypertension and previous transient ischaemic attacks were the commonest risk factors for stroke in our community.