A person can have a stroke at any age throughout their life – although age increases your chances. But there are risk factors to be aware of and methods to help prevent it. The best way you can protect yourself and your family is to know about and understand the disease.

 

Statistics you should know:

  • Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the United States
  • The condition kills an around 140,000 Americans each year (1 out of every 20 deaths)
  • It is a major cause of serious disability in adults
  • About 795,000 people nationwide have a stroke each year
  • Every 40 seconds someone has a stroke in the US
  • Every 4 minutes someone dies from stroke
  • Stroke is preventable and treatable

Signs of stroke:

  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
  • Numbness of weakness in your arm, face, or leg – especially if it specific to one side of your body
  • Trouble seeing
  • Issues walking, dizziness, loss of balance/coordination
  • Severe headache for seemingly no reason

FAST:

FAST is an acronym to know when it comes to remembering the three main signs that can show someone is having a stroke: Facial weakness, Arm weakness and Speech difficulty. The T stands for Time, which reminds people to call emergency services as quickly as possible.

The biggest thing is time – even if you are unsure of what is happening, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says to call 911 regardless.

Around 80 million living people have experienced a stroke in their lifetime. And over 50 million stroke survivors live with some form of permanent disability as a result, according to the World Stroke Campaign.

Are you more likely to have a to stroke?

Certain medical conditions can have an impact on if you are more susceptible to having a stroke. If you have already had a stroke (or a mini-stroke), that is something to keep in mind, as your chances are higher.

Other illnesses to consider are:

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle Cell disease

More factors that make you more likely to have a stroke can be a poor diet, lack of physical activity, obesity, if you consume too much alcohol, and smoking.

Prevention:

Helping yourself maintain a healthy lifestyle is the biggest thing when it comes to preventing stroke. The CDC says that making healthy choices and controlling any health conditions you do have will go a long way in keeping any stroke chances at bay.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Stroke Association/AHA were contributing factors to this story.