Stroke Prevention
If you have risk factors for stroke - and even if you don't - it's important to work with your healthcare provider to make good lifestyle choices that can help minimize those risks. Some risk factors for stroke include:
Diabetes and high blood pressure - According to the American Stroke Association, having diabetes as well as high blood pressure dramatically increases your risk of experiencing a silent stroke (a stroke which causes no noticeable symptoms, but which can still damage the brain. A "silent stroke" can also increase your risk of having a regular stroke. People with high blood pressure and diabetes need to control these chronic conditions to reduce their stroke risk.
Not eating enough fruits and vegetables - Eating fruits and green or yellow vegetables daily may help protect against stroke. A 48-year study of 120,321 people found that people who ate green and yellow vegetables almost every day reduced the risk for death from stroke by 26 percent in both men and women - compared to those who ate no daily vegetables more than once a week. People who ate fruit almost daily reduced their risk by 35 percent in men and 25 percent in women. The study was published in 2003 in "Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association."
Lack of potassium - Eating foods rich in potassium may reduce your risk of stroke. Another study in the journal "Stroke" found that people who consumed fewer than 2,300 mg. of potassium per day had a 50 percent higher stroke risk than those who consumed more than 4,100 mg. Good sources of potassium include baked potatoes with skin, plain yogurt, cantaloupes and honeydew melons, halibut and tuna steaks, grapefruit, orange or prune juice, bananas, and molasses.
Smoking - Men who smoke increase their stroke risk every time they light up, according to the American Stroke Association. An 18-year study of more than 20,000 men found that those who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day doubled their stroke risk compared with those who have never smoked or those who've quit the habit.
Stress - People who say they are highly stressed have double the risk for fatal stroke as people who say they are stress-free, according to the American Stroke Association. Researchers believe this may be because people suffering from stress tend to have other cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, higher alcohol consumption, and high blood pressure.
Resources
If you think you or a loved one may be having a stroke, dial 911 immediately. Do not drive yourself to the hospital.
For more information, please call the hospital nearest you and ask to speak with a stroke coordinator.
Northwest Medical Center: (520) 742-9000
Northwest Medical Center - Houghton: (520) 543-6100
Oro Valley Hospital: (520) 901-3500