HOW TO HELP PREVENT STROKE
May is Stroke Awareness Month and it’s important to know the risks
of stroke and tips to reduce your risk.
Strokes are caused when a blood vessel ruptures (called a
the United States, according to the American Heart Association, and is the
number one cause of disability. Eighty percent of strokes are preventable.
Khakoo, MD a vascular neurology specialist at Bayshore Medical Center.
RISK FACTORS FOR STROKE
According to the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute, risk factors for stroke include:
High blood pressure
Smoking
Diabetes
Age (your risk increases as you get older)
Gender (men are more likely to have strokes)
Taking birth control
Race/ethnicity (strokes occur more often in African American, Alaska
Native and American Indian adults)
Personal or family history of stroke or heart disease
Brain aneurysms or blood vessel malformations
Obesity
Poor diet
Alcohol/illegal drug use
TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR RISK
Dr. Khakoo offers these tips to reduce your risk of stroke:
Check your blood pressure regularly. If you have elevated blood
pressure consistently, talk to your doctor about treatment to control it.
Get tested for diabetes, especially if you have a family history.
Get a heart health check. Heart disease, heart weakness or cardiac
the brain, causing strokes.
Be vigilant about your cholesterol. Many heart vessel clogging
problems that occur in the heart from high blood fats (cholesterol) also
occur in the blood vessels in the brain and in the vessels leading to
the brain. So it’s important to regularly check your cholesterol. Make
necessary dietary or medication changes to lower your cholesterol,
especially the LDL type.
Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity on its own is a risk factor for stroke.
But it also can lead to other health issues such as high blood pressure,
heart disease and diabetes, which are additional stroke risk factors.
Eat foods low in cholesterol and fats, especially saturated fats and trans
fats, such as lean meats, non-fat dairy and whole-grain breads.
Exercise regularly. Humans were made to move. Working out keeps your
If you smoke, stop. Smoking can damage blood vessels as well as
the heart. It also can increase blood pressure and lead to decreased
oxygen supply from the lungs, and it leads to other health diseases
that can impact stroke risk.
Drink less alcohol. Even one or two drinks a day can increase the risk of
high blood pressure and stroke.
Reduce stress. Stress can alter blood sugar and raise blood pressure as
well as cause cardiac rhythm irregularities.
and there is no doubt that the best treatment for a stroke is preventing one
from happening at all,” Dr. Khakoo says.
Bayshore
Medical Center
NATIONALLY ACCREDITED PRIMARY STROKE CENTER
Learn more about our stroke center at BayshoreMedicalCenter.org/Stroke
/Stroke