The analysis, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, said a side effect of economic prosperity may be an increased risk of the most common types of strokes.

However, despite an overall increase in the stroke rate, the risk of dying from a stroke decreased. The study found fewer people died of stroke and the risk of dying from a stroke decreased by 1.7 percent for bleeding strokes and by 0.5 percent for ischemic strokes.

"The changes in patterns of stroke have raised new challenges and the need to adjust priorities to prevent stroke in China," lead study author Dr. Dong Zhao of Capital Medical University-affiliated Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Vessel Diseases, said in a statement.

Zhao linked the 77 percent increase in ischemic heart disease deaths to the increase in fat consumption from 88.1g per day to 97.4g, and a 24 percent rise in cholesterol levels. Diabetes increased by 97 percent and the number of obese people in China increased by 13 percent in urban areas and by 85 percent in rural areas.