Reducing Your Risk Of Stroke

Sunday, March 1, 2015

(NAPSA)—While strokes are a leading cause of death and disability in adults in the United States, there are ways to reduce your risk of having one. Sometimes called a “brain attack,” a stroke happens when blood flow is cut off to part of the brain, starving brain cells of oxygen. Within minutes, those cells begin to die, which can lead to permanent damageif not treated quickly. Reducing Your Risk Some of the commonrisk factors for stroke include high blood thmeanS re a pressure, heart disease, diabetes, A healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of stroke. many steps you can take to Another method is to use ultrasound, a painless test that uses sound waves to create a picture of the arteries (similar to the ultrasound that pregnant women get to see the baby inside the womb). Health care professionals can look at the pictures to see whether the arteries are narrowed or blocked. Carotid artery stenosis screening, however, haslittle or no overall benefit for preventing stroke smoking and a family history of strokes. Fortunately, there are reduce your risk of stroke (and other related diseases like heart attacks). Engage in a healthylifestyle by eating a healthy diet, being physically active and quitting smoking. Also, take steps to keep your blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar undercontrol by visiting your doctor or nurse. He or she can be a valuable resource for helping you improve your health and treating any conditions that might raise yourrisk for stroke. An UncommonRisk Factor A less commonrisk factor for stroke is carotid artery stenosis, the narrowing of the arteries that run along the sides of the neck that carry blood from your heart to your brain. This condition affects only one half to 1 percent of the population and causesa relatively small percentage of strokes. You may be at increased risk of developing carotid artery stenosis if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or a history of heart disease. Older age and smokingare also risk factors. More Harm Than Good Screening for carotid artery stenosis is often done by listening to the neck with a stethoscope for unusual sounds from thearteries. for most adults. In fact, this screening can be harmful because it often leads to a cascadeoffollow-up testing and surgeries that themselves can cause stroke, heart attack or death. Because the condition is rare, screening all adults would also lead to many false-positives (test results that say a person has a disease when he or she does not) and can lead to unnecessary surgeries. As a result, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendsagainst carotid artery stenosis screening for the general population. Work with your doctor or nurse to talk about any concerns you may have about your risk for stroke and ask about ways that you can reduce yourrisk by exercising, eating well and managing any chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Stroke Symptoms: Timeto Act Even if you take steps to reduce yourrisk, it’s important to know the signs and symptomsof stroke so you can act quickly and potentially avoid devastating consequences. Theseinclude: Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg—especially on one side of the body Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination Sudden severe headache with no known cause. If you notice any of these symptoms in yourself or in someone near you, call 911 and get immediate medical help. A stroke is an emergency and quick treatment can help prevent long-term brain damageor even death. It is also important to tell your doctor if you have a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, or TIA (a “ministroke”). If you have had TIA ora stroke, the Task Force recommendation on carotid artery stenosis screening does not apply to you. Your doctor can work with you to develop a plan based on your individual health to prevent a future stroke. Protecting Your Health The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidencebased medicine. The Task Force makes evidence-based recommendations on primary care services. Recently, the Task Force reviewed evidence on screening for carotid artery stenosis in the general adult population. Learn More For more information on the Task Force and to read the full report on carotid artery stenosis screening, visit www.uspreventive servicestaskforce.org.

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