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How to Prevent a Stroke

Posted by admin on December 19, 2009 | No Comments

How to Prevent a Stroke

It’s important to know the causes of a stroke in order to know how to prevent a stroke. The most common cause of a stroke is a blockage of a blood vessel in the neck or the brain resulting in the death of brain cells due to the lack of oxygen to that area. This is caused by a stationary clot (stroke caused by a thrombosis) or a clot that moves from another area of the body to the neck or brain (stroke caused by an embolism).This type of stroke is called an ischemic attack and accounts for 80% of all strokes.
The other 20% of strokes are caused when the blood circulation to the brain fails. This type of stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain.

A stroke can result in death, but it can also result in paralysis to parts of the body (the parts fueled by that portion of the resulting dead brain cells). A stroke often affects the person’s speech, or one side of the person’s body.  This paralysis can be temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the stroke and the person’s recovery from the stroke through therapy.
Your best bet in knowing how to prevent a stroke is by knowing the risk factors:

Smoking:  Smoking builds up fatty tissues in the main artery in the neck which may result in a stroke. If you’re a chronic smoker you’ll want to talk to your doctor about the possible programs and medications available today. Smoking decreases the amount of oxygen in your body which further complicates the outcome of the stroke. If you are a smoker and you really want to know how to prevent a stroke- quit smoking immediately!

High Blood Pressure: Depending on how high your blood pressure is, you may want to talk to your doctor about anti-hypertensive medications to reduce your risk of getting a stroke. Adding a daily low dose of aspirin has been shown to decrease your blood pressure and your stroke risk. You’ll need to talk to your doctor about this. Daily exercise will definitely improve your blood flow, the state of your arteries, your blood pressure and therefore your chances of getting a stroke. How to prevent a stroke- lower your blood pressure!

Not Exercising: Exercise is important not just for reducing your chances of getting a stroke, but for your general health as well.  Daily exercise, at your fitness level- whatever that is- even if it means taking a daily short walk will decrease your chances of getting a stroke. How to prevent a stroke- exercise!

Diabetes: The body’s inability to use sugar properly affects the blood vessels and causes destructive changes that may result in a stroke. It’s important to control your diabetes through proper diet, exercise and possibly medication as prescribed by your doctor. How to prevent a stroke- control your diabetes!

High Cholesterol:   High cholesterol causes your blood vessels to work improperly and can cause blockage resulting in a stroke.  Proper diet- decreasing the Trans fats you ingest- will improve your cholesterol, and so will medication prescribed by your doctor. How to prevent a stroke- lower your cholesterol!  

The only two risk factors of stroke-prevention listed in the chart above that aren’t under your control are your family history and your age. You obviously can’t do anything about the aging process.  If one or both of your parents or siblings died from a stroke, you’re at a greater risk of having a stroke yourself. In this case you’ll definitely want to know how to prevent a stroke focusing in on the factors that you can do something about. Knowing how to prevent a stroke is your first method of defense.