Regular checkups, exercise, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle – including knowing and managing risk factors – can help prevent or limit the damage of a stroke. To prevent or limit the damage of stroke, call 911 if you see symptoms of stroke.
Symptoms of stroke start suddenly and include:
- Confusion or difficulty understanding others and difficulty speaking
- Dizziness
- Severe headache
- Trouble walking, loss of balance or coordination
- Vision problems in one or both eyes
- Weakness or numbness in your face, arm or leg, often on just one side
Risk factors for stroke include:
- High blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure > 90)
- Age; stroke risk rises after age 65
- Diabetes
- Family history of stroke
- Gender; men have a higher incidence of stroke
- Prior stroke or TIA
- Race; African-Americans have a higher incidence of stroke
- Smoking
- Vascular disease, especially carotid bruit (narrowing of artery carrying blood to the brain)
Stroke is a symptom of vascular or blood vessel disease. Most strokes are caused by blood clots blocking an artery. A blood clot can come from another part of the body, or can be caused by a smaller clot in an artery narrowed down from plaque build-up.
Things you must do to lower your risk for stroke:
- Monitor blood pressure regularly and treat high blood pressure
- Exercise
- If you are diabetic, control blood glucose levels
- If you smoke, quit
- Manage cholesterol levels
- Manage weight
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