“Strokes only happen to elderly people. Strokes are rare. A stroke takes place in the heart. Strokes aren’t preventable. Strokes aren’t preventable. If stroke symptoms pass, you don’t need treatment. Stroke recovery only happens in the first few months after a stroke. Smoking doesn’t affect your chances of having a stroke.”
Those are just a few myths that people frequently assume when dealing with a stroke, but I am here to tell you all of those statements above are MYTHS. A stroke is when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted, which stops the blood from feeding the brain tissue oxygen and nutrients. A stroke can happen at any age. A persons risk factor for having a stroke doubles after the age of 55 but that does not mean it does not happen before then. A stroke occurs in the United States every 40 seconds and every 4 minutes someone dies due to a stroke. These statements are facts.
One of the main facts you should take away when learning about strokes is that they are preventative. The International Stroke Study examined risk factors and found that 90 percent of strokes can be attributed to vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity and all of which are preventable to a large extent. The best way to prevent a stroke from happening is by knowing what the risk factors are:
- High Blood Pressure (Higher than 140/90)
- Having an irregular heart rate (atrial fibrillation)
- Smoking
- High Cholesterol (greater than 200)
- Diabetic
- Having a pervious of stroke or history of stroke in the family
- Minimal exercise throughout the day
- African American
- Female
- Over the age of 55
Ways you can prevent one from occurring are by quitting smoking, exercising, eating more plant-based foods, and if you do have high cholesterol talk to your doctor about taking a statin medication.
References
The International Stroke Trial (IST): a randomised trial of aspirin, subcutaneous heparin, both, or neither among 19435 patients with acute ischaemic stroke. International Stroke Trial Collaborative Group. (1997, May 31). Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9174558.
(2013, November 25). Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNRU1hIoyek.