Stroke is a condition that falls under the umbrella of heart disease.
You get three different types of strokes and the different things you can do to reduce your risk of a stroke.
The three major kinds of stroke include the following:
• Thrombotic stroke – is when plaque build up on the arterial walls of the arteries leading to the brain. The plaques narrow the blood vessels. Clots can form in the narrowed areas, causing a reduction in oxygen and blood flow to the brain stops.
• Embolic stroke – is when a blood clot somewhere in the body (usually on a heart valve) breaks off and travels through the bloodstream. This cuts off the circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in a stroke.
• Hemorrhagic stroke – is when a blood vessel in the brain opens up, causing bleeding to occur within the brain. This can be due to areas of weakness in the blood vessels or to aneurysms in the brain that open up and bleed.
Stroke Statistics In The United States
• Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States
• There are 795,000 strokes every year
• Someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds each day in the US
• Stroke is the leading reason for serious disability. Survivors of a stroke are often left with paralysis and speech impairment. Causing long term disability, often requiring long term care
• After the age of 55 years old, the risk for stroke doubles every decade
• Almost ¾ of all strokes occur in people age older than 65
(Data source: Internet Stroke Center)
Prevention Of Stroke
There are different ways to prevent a stroke depending on the type of stroke you are trying to prevent. Things you do to prevent a certain type of stroke has the potential to worsen another type of stroke.
The following are some things you can do to prevent a stroke:
• Maintain a normal blood pressure – This holds true for all kinds of strokes. High blood pressure contributes to arterial spasm and increases the risk of thrombotic stroke. High blood pressure can push a blood clot from the heart valve into the circulatory system of the brain, and cause an embolic stroke. In a completely different way, high blood pressure can cause hemorrhagic strokes. where there is a weakness in the walls of any part of the brain’s circulatory system.
• Maintain normal cholesterol level – cholesterol makes up part of the plaque that causes a thrombotic stroke. If you maintain normal levels of cholesterol, the chance that a blood clot can form in the arteries is much less. You need to eat healthy food low in cholesterol or take medication to achieve normal levels of cholesterol.
• Stop smoking – Smoking has the potential to raise your blood pressure, which in turn will increase the risk of strokes. Smoking contributes to plaque formation in the walls of the blood vessels which increase the risk of a thrombotic stroke. The longer you smoke, the greater is the risk of developing heart diseases.
• Take a baby aspirin – Patients who already had a heart attack can use baby aspirin to prevent the recurrence of a heart attack. Aspirin is a platelet inhibitor, which means that it blocks platelets from sticking together and forming a blood clot. This can work in the prevention of both thrombotic strokes and embolic strokes. If platelets cannot form a blood clot on a heart valve it can’t travel to an area of the brain, leading to an embolic stroke. Block platelets from forming a clot inside a narrowed area of blood vessels leading to the brain, will prevent the onset of a thrombotic stroke.
A healthy lifestyle with normal blood pressure, no smoking, and low cholesterol levels will contribute towards reducing the incidence of strokes.
If you have any concerns about strokes, or any type of heart disease, it is a great idea to see your doctor and get a full physical.
Also relevant screenings will show if there is not more that you can do to ensure you remain in optimal health.