What is Your Stroke Risk? Part 1

Do you know the leading causes of stroke in the U.S? Did you know strokes can and do occur at any age, but our risk grows as we age? Medical Department Store want all of our customers to be stroke aware and live their best lives possible, so we’re sharing information about stroke this month.

If strokes are so preventable, why do so many happen every year? Preventative health measures reduce your risk of stroke!

80 percent of all strokes are preventable. What are the biggest preventable and/or treatable stroke risks? Some of the leading causes are high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking. About half of Americans (49 percent) have at least one of these three risk factors, many have two or all three of the “big three.”

Those are the top three, but there are many more.  Other medical conditions and lifestyle choices that raise our stroke risk are diabetes. Being overweight or obese, having a poor diet, not having enough physical activity/ bring sedentary and excessive alcohol use. If you read the paper or watch TV you see a lot of coverage on the “American lifestyle” and how bad it is for us. Now you have more reasons.

What can you do to lower your preventable risk of stroke? Know your family history, stroke runs in families. If you have stroke in the family, pay even more attention to your lifestyle. Have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly. Both can be controlled with a combination of diet, exercise and medication. If you smoke, stop smoking. This advice works for countless reasons beyond stroke prevention. Diabetes, being overweight and being sedentary are also things that can be controlled with some common sense approaches. Diet, exercise (and to an extent medication) are also great ways to get control of these problems as well. The first two suggestions are usually the cheapest and require no medication.

If you or someone you care about recovering from a stroke, see Medical Department Store for equipment and supplies to make recovery better and safer. From bathroom safety equipment to hospital beds and supplies, see Medical Department Store first.