Learn how to lower your risk of stroke

Every year, more than 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke. Stroke is also the leading cause of long-term disability, causing ongoing problems with mobility, speech, and thinking. Knowing the symptoms and getting treatment quickly increases the chances of surviving a stroke and can lower the likelihood of long-term disability caused by stroke.

The most common stroke symptoms start suddenly and include:

• Confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding speech
• Weakness, numbness, or paralysis in the face, arm, or leg usually on one side of the body
• Severe headache, often described as the worst headache of your life
• Difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
• Coordination problems that affect walking and balance

If you’re not sure if someone is having a stroke, do the FAST test:

• Face: Ask the person to smile and see if one side of their face droops.
• Arms: Ask them to raise their arms and see if one drifts downward or can’t be raised.
• Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase and see if their speech is slurred or different than usual.
• Time: If they have any of these symptoms, call 911 and get immediate emergency medical care. The longer you delay care, the greater the risk of damage to the brain, long term disability, and death.

What causes a stroke?

There are two types of strokes—ischemic and hemorrhagic.

• An ischemic stroke occurs when the blood vessels in the brain are narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow. This can be caused by fatty deposits that build up in the vessels (atherosclerosis) or blood clots that travel through the bloodstream to the brain and become lodged in the vessels. Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke, making up approximately 87% of all strokes.
• Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a weakened blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures and bleeds into the brain, compressing the tissue. These strokes can occur within the brain (intracerebral hemorrhage) or between the inner and outer layers of tissue that covers the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage). There is a less common type of bleeding in the brain that is caused by the rupture of an irregular tangle of blood vessels called an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Hemorrhagic strokes make up about 13% of all strokes.

 

In addition to ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, there is a condition called transient ischemic attack (TIA). During a TIA, blood flow to part of the brain is temporarily decreased. This can cause symptoms similar to a stroke but does not do permanent damage to the brain. It’s still important to seek immediate emergency care because you may be in the early stages of stroke or you may have a blocked or narrowed artery that increases your risk for a stroke in the future.

Stroke treatments

Treatment for a stroke depends on the type of stroke you experience. For ischemic strokes, the main treatment is the IV delivery of a medication called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which breaks up any clots that are blocking blood flow to the brain. tPA must be given within four and a half hours of the first appearance of symptoms.

Some patients may need more complex interventions, such as endovascular therapy. This can be either the direct delivery of tPA to the brain or using a device attached to a catheter to physically remove the clot. Other treatments include the insertion and inflation of a balloon in the narrowed artery and the placement of a mesh tube, called a stent, to keep the artery open and surgery on the carotid artery to remove blockages.

For hemorrhagic strokes, medications may be given to increase blood clotting, lower the pressure in the brain, lower blood pressure, and prevent seizures. If the area affected by bleeding is large, surgery may be needed to remove the blood, reduce pressure, and repair blood vessels.

There are new treatments for stroke and stroke-related complications that are currently in development.

• The FDA recently approved a new drug to break up stroke-related blood clots faster. Tenecteplase (TNKase) is delivered via a single five-second IV, a faster option than tPA.
• Researchers are studying the effects of a stem cell therapy on restoring normal patterns of brain activity after a stroke.
• At the University of Georgia, clinical trials of a new drug that reduces inflammation in the brain caused by the stroke are getting underway.
• Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine are conducting animal studies focused on retraining the brain so another part takes over the functions usually performed by the damaged part of the brain.
• At the Mayo Clinic, physicians are using stimulation of the vagus nerve delivered while patients are doing physical or occupational therapy to increase neuroplasticity.

Lower your risk for stroke

A range of factors, some you can control and some you can’t, affect your risk of having a stroke. Factors you can’t control include:

• Age – your risk increases when you’re 55 or older, although it is possible to have a stroke at any age
• Ethnicity – individuals who are Black, Hispanic, Alaska Native, or American Indian have a higher risk of stroke
• Sex – Males have a higher risk of stroke than females
• Having a parent or family member who had a stroke, especially if they were younger when the stroke occurred
• Having a medical condition that causes chronic inflammation like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis
• Having a previous stroke

To reduce your stroke risk

Adopt these strategies and focus on factors you can manage:

• Control blood pressure: Nearly 50% of American adults have high blood pressure. Talk with your healthcare provider about strategies to manage blood pressure effectively.
• Manage heart disease: Heart failure, heart defects, heart infections, and irregular heart rhythm disorders, such as atrial fibrillation, can raise your risk of stroke, so follow your provider’s recommendations for managing these conditions.
• Quit smoking: Talk with your provider about how to quit. Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and nicotine, which damage the heart and blood vessels and increase stroke risk. Secondhand smoke also increases stroke risk.
• Manage diabetes: Get recommended blood tests to monitor your blood glucose levels and take your medications to control blood sugar levels.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese increases stroke risk. Your healthcare provider and PinnacleCare Health Advisor can help you build a plan to reach and maintain a healthy weight.
• Be active: Get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week.
• Eat a heart healthy diet: Limit saturated and trans fats, added sugar, and sodium and choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein.
• Manage sleep apnea: This condition can cause low oxygen levels while sleeping and raise blood pressure, increasing stroke risk.
• Limit alcohol and don’t use recreational drugs: Drinking more than one serving of alcohol for women and two for men can raise blood pressure, stroke risk, and increase triglyceride levels, contributing to atherosclerosis. Some recreational drugs have been closely linked with stroke and other cardiovascular problems.

Get support from PinnacleCare

Having a dedicated team of healthcare experts can make all the difference in your health. Whether trying to manage the long list of preventive strategies you can take to prevent a stroke or manage your care after a stroke or other serious medical event, your PinnacleCare team is here to take the stress of ‘what do I do next’ off your plate, so you can focus on what is most important, your health.

PinnacleCare is a member of the Sun Life Financial Inc. (“Sun Life”) family of companies. PinnacleCare and its employees do not diagnose medical conditions, recommend treatment options or provide medical care, and any information or services provided should not be considered medical advice. Any medical decisions should be made only after consultation with and at the direction of your medical provider. Any person or entity who provides health care services following a referral or other service provided does so independently and not as an agent or representative of PinnacleCare.

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PCWC-10116-12                                           #1631163698 04/25 (exp. 04/27)