The aim was to assess long-term trends in the data on stroke mortality acquired in 50 years in the Czech Republic (population 10 mil. inhabitans) Yearly mortality due to stroke in the Czech Republic had been recorded from 1950 to 1999. The data on overall mortality and of mortality for each gender separately were processed by spectral analysis. In view of a prominent about 50-year cycle, analyses were repeated on the residuals from this long-term trend and from a third-order polynomial. Amplitude of about 50-year cycle in total mortality data was 2123 deaths per year (corresponding original data are as follows: 1950 – 8000 deaths per year, 1985 - 22000 deaths per year, 1995 – 11000 deaths per year). In view of the nonsinusoidal waveform of the about 50-year cycle, a third-order polynomial was fitted to the data and the amplitude of about 15-year cycle was assessed to be 384 deaths per year. There is a 50-year cycle and about 21-year cycle in stroke mortality. The time course of the stroke death is influenced by socio-economic development and by cyclic environmental factors.
