§ Increasing Age
§ Gender
§ Race and Ethnicity
§ Family History
§ Stressful Life
§ Unhealthy Lifestyle
§ Health Problems, such as Hypertension, High Cholesterol level, Diabetic etc
While you may not have the ability to control some of these risk-factors, a healthy lifestyle will definitely help to reduce the odds of having a stroke. What are these risk factors and how can they be eliminated?
Stroke Risk Factors
Some stroke risk factors are hereditary. Others are functions of natural processes. Still others result from a person's lifestyle. You can't change factors related to heredity or natural processes, but those resulting from lifestyle or environment can be modified with the help of a healthcare professional.
What risk factors for stroke can't be changed?
Age — The chance of having a stroke approximately doubles for each decade of life after age 55. While stroke is common among the elderly, a lot of people under 65 also have strokes.
Heredity (family history) and race — Your stroke risk is greater if a parent, grandparent, sister or brother has had a stroke.
Sex (gender) — Stroke is more common in men than in women. In most age groups, more men than women will have a stroke in a given year. However, more than half of total stroke deaths occur in women. At all ages, more women than men die of stroke. Use of birth control pills and pregnancy pose special stroke risks for women.
Prior stroke, TIA or heart attack — The risk of stroke for someone who has already had one is many times that of a person who has not. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are "warning strokes" that produce stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. TIAs are strong predictors of stroke. A person who's had one or more TIAs is almost 10 times more likely to have a stroke than someone of the same age and sex who hasn't. Recognizing and treating TIAs can reduce your risk of a major stroke. If you've had a heart attack, you're at higher risk of having a stroke, too.
What stroke risk factors can be changed, treated or controlled?
High blood pressure — High blood pressure is the most important controllable risk factor for stroke. Many people believe the effective treatment of high blood pressure is a key reason for the accelerated decline in the death rates for stroke.
Cigarette smoking — cigarette smoking to be an important risk factor for stroke. The nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke damage the cardiovascular system in many ways. The use of oral contraceptives combined with cigarette smoking greatly increases stroke risk.
Diabetes — Diabetes is an independent risk factor for stroke. Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and are overweight. This increases their risk even more. While diabetes is treatable, the presence of the disease still increases your risk of stroke.
Carotid or other artery disease — The carotid arteries in the neck supply blood to the brain. A carotid artery narrowed by fatty deposits from atherosclerosis (plaque buildups in artery walls) may become blocked by a blood clot. Carotid artery disease is also called carotid artery stenosis. Peripheral artery disease is the narrowing of blood vessels carrying blood to leg and arm muscles. It's caused by fatty buildups of plaque in artery walls. People with peripheral artery disease have a higher risk of carotid artery disease, which raises their risk of stroke. \
Atrial fibrillation — This heart rhythm disorder raises the risk for stroke. The heart's upper chambers quiver instead of beating effectively, which can let the blood pool and clot. If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results.
Other heart disease — People with coronary heart disease or heart failure have a higher risk of stroke than those with hearts that work normally. Dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart), heart valve disease and some types of congenital heart defects also raise the risk of stroke.
High blood cholesterol — People with high blood cholesterol have an increased risk for stroke. Sometimes, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol is a risk factor for stroke in men, but more data are needed to verify its effect in women.
Poor diet — Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol food can raise blood cholesterol levels. Diets high in sodium (salt) can contribute to increased blood pressure. Diets with excess calories can contribute to obesity. Also, a diet containing five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day may reduce the risk of stroke.
Physical inactivity and obesity — Being inactive, obese or both can increase the risk of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The recommendations are brisk walking, take the stairs instead of the lift, qigong exercises or any form of mild exercises , to get a total of at least 30 minutes of activity on a regular basis.
Alcohol abuse — Alcohol abuse can lead to multiple medical complications, including stroke. For those who consume alcohol, a recommendation of no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for non pregnant women best reflects the state of the science for alcohol and stroke risk.
Drug abuse — Drug addiction is often a chronic relapsing disorder associated with a number of societal and health-related problems, with an increased risk of stroke.
Many of the risk factors for stroke can be controlled if people change their lifestyle…
The good news is with early intervention and proper rehabilitation, many stroke survivors and family members can go on to lead normal or renewed lives. The first step to achieve success…is to recognize the warning symptoms of stroke, to avoid having a recurrent episode which may lead to further damage to the body and life.
The impact of stroke can be devastating for the more than 700,000 people that suffer from stroke each year.
When armed with knowledge and information; you can learn to lead an ordinary life even after a devastating stroke. One of the most important desires stroke survivors have is the ability to regain an independent lifestyle. How is this POSSIBLE?
This is often achieved through rehabilitation, support and counseling, as well as caring for the individual’s health related to post stroke problems..
Friends and loved ones also find that they are confused about how to cope with a loved one’s loss. Fortunately, help and guidance are now available. Friends and family can learn to heal others and heal their own sense of loss by learning more about life following a stroke.
While a stroke survivor may not return to the state of health like before, there is evidence that leading a rich rewarding life is still possible.
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