0
Stroke - prevention
What Is a Risk Factor?A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting a disease or health problem. Some risk factors for stroke you cannot change. Some you can. Changing the risk factors that you have control over will help you live a longer, healthier life.
Risk Factors You Cannot ChangeYou CANNOT change these stroke risk factors:
- Your age. Risk of stroke goes up with age.
- Your gender. Men have a higher risk of getting Heart disease than women, except in older adults.
- Your genes or race. If your parents had a stroke, you are at higher risk. African-Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans also have a higher risk.
- Diseases such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, and some types of Arthritis
- Weak areas in an artery wall or abnormal arteries and veins
- Pregnancy -- both during and in the weeks right after the pregnancy
Blood clots from the heart may travel to the brain and cause a stroke. This may happen in people with man-made or infected heart valves. It may also happen because of a heart defect you were born with.
A very weak heart and some abnormal heartbeats can also cause blood clots.
Risk Factors You Can ChangeSome risks for heart disease that you CAN change are:
- Not smoking. If you do smoke, quit.
- Controlling your cholesterol through diet, exercise, and medicines, if needed.
- Controlling high blood pressure through diet, exercise, and medicines, if needed. Ask your doctor what it should be.
- Controlling diabetes through diet, exercise, and medicines, if needed.
- Exercising at least 30 minutes a day.
- Keeping to a healthy weight. Eat healthy foods, eat less, and join a weight loss program, if you need to lose weight.
- Limiting how much alcohol you drink. Women should have no more than 1 drink a day, and men no more than 2 a day. Avoid cocaine and other illegal drugs.
Birth Control pills can raise your risk of blood clots. Clots are more likely in women who also smoke and who are older than 35.
Good nutrition is important to your heart health. It will help control some of your risk factors.
- Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
- Choose lean proteins. Eat chicken, fish, beans and legumes.
- Choose low-fat dairy products, such as 1% milk and other low-fat items.
- Avoid sodium (salt) and fats found in fried foods, processed foods, and baked goods.
- Eat fewer animal products and foods with cheese, cream, or eggs.
- Read food labels. Stay away from "saturated fat" and anything with "partially-hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" fats. These are unhealthy fats.
Your doctor may suggest taking aspirin or another blood thinner to help prevent blood clots from forming. DO NOT take aspirin without talking to your doctor first.
If you are taking these drugs, take steps to prevent yourself from falling or tripping.
Follow these guidelines and the advice of your doctor to lower your chances of stroke.
ReferencesGoldstein LB, Bushnell CD, Adams RJ, Appel LJ, Braun LT, Chaturvedi S, et al. Guidelines for the primary prevention of stroke: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2011 Feb;42(2):517-84. Epub 2010 Dec 2.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 06/16/2011
A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, and David R. Eltz.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
3 risk factors of a stroke?
Some of the 3 risk factors of stroke are; high blood pressure, heart disease and smoking.
What are some risk factors for exercising outside?
Heat stroke
What are the risk factors for stroke?
Aside from aging and hypertension, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, smoking, oral contraceptives in women, polycythemia, and a condition called sleep apnea are all risk factors for stroke, as is a diet high in cholesterol or fatty foods.
Should a 39 year old man have a Stroke Examination?
If he has known risk factors, it certainly wouldn't hurt. You can have a stroke at any age.
How can I tell if the signs and symptoms of metabolic disorder?
Metabolic disorder or syndrome is a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetesexternal and stroke. These risk factors can increase your risk for health problems even if they're only moderately raised.
Recognizing and Preventing a Stroke?
What is a Stroke?A person has a stroke when an artery becomes blocked by a blood clot or when a blood vessel breaks, which obstructs blood from reaching certain regions of the brain. When one of these two things occurs, brain damage occurs due to dying brain cells. After a person has had a stroke, he or she typically loses some speech, memory and movement abilities. The extent of the damage typically depends on the seriousness of the stroke.What are the Symptoms of a Stroke?It is essential to know the signs of a stroke so that you can seek help immediately to reduce damage. A major symptom of a stroke is numbness or loss of movement in certain body parts, such as the arm, leg or face. Someone experiencing a stroke will also likely have vision issues, will seem confused, will have a lack of balance and will have trouble speaking.Who is Most at Risk for Having a Stroke?Anyone of any age, race or gender can experience a stroke, but certain factors put an individual at higher risk for having a stroke. Up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable, so it is important to know the risk factors to take precautions for yourself and your loved ones. There are controllable risk factors, which are factors that can be controlled through lifestyle changes, and there are uncontrollable risk factors that cannot be changed.Unfortunately, there are several uncontrollable risk factors that inherently make individuals more susceptible to strokes. An individual who is over the age of 55 is at a higher risk of having a stroke than a younger individual. A male is more susceptible to a stroke than a female. People of certain races, such as African Americans, Hispanics and Asians, are more likely to have strokes than Caucasian individuals. Additionally, individuals whose family members have had strokes are at higher risks of having strokes than people who have no family histories of strokes.Controllable risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, circulation problems, tobacco and alcohol use, high cholesterol and obesity. These factors are not necessarily easy to control, but through lifestyle changes and medication, they can be tackled to reduce the risk of a stroke.
What are two factors that increase one's risk for heart attack and stroke?
two thirds of stroke victims are over age 65. Risk is shown to double with each 10 years over age 55. Men are more at risk than women, although most stroke survivors over age 65 are women
What are risk factors for obesity?
Obesity is caused by excessive consumption of calorie. Those that consume a lot of food containg high calorie and those that have sedentary lifestyle and don't do exercise.Those that have the obese gene are also at risk.
What diseases affect the risk of stroke?
Stroke risk is increased for people with diabetes, heart disease (especially atrial fibrillation), high blood pressure, prior stroke, or TIA. Risk of stroke increases tenfold for someone with one or more TIAs.
What are 5 factors that can prevent or cause heart attacks?
Your lifestyle is not only your best defense against heart disease and stroke, steps you can reduce all of the modifiable risk factors for heart disease.
Can depression cause a stroke?
Depression is a risk factor for stroke but depression does not cause stroke per se.
What are some risk factors of lupus?
Risk factors for getting the disease or risk factors if you already have the disease?
