Aged individuals experience the highest rate of stroke and have less functional recovery, but do not have larger infarcts. We hypothesized that aged individuals experience greater sublethal damage in peri-infarct cortex. Focal cortical stroke was produced in aged and young adult animals. After 30 min, 1, 3 and 5 days brain sections and Western blot were used to analyze markers of apoptotic cell death, oxidative DNA and protein damage, heat shock protein (HSP) 70 induction, total neuronal number and infarct size. Focal stroke produces significantly more oxidative DNA and protein damage and fewer cells with HSP70 induction in peri-infarct cortex of aged animals. There is no difference in infarct size or the number of cells undergoing apoptosis between aged and young adults. Stroke in the aged brain is associated with a greater degree of DNA and protein damage and a reduced stress response in intact, surviving tissue that surrounds the infarct.