Stroke: Preventing the First Incident
80% of strokes could be prevented.
Dr. Marc Dufresne
Cardiologist
6 min read
Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability in adults and the third leading cause of mortality in industrialized countries. The good news: most risk factors are modifiable.
The 10 Major Risk Factors
According to the INTERSTROKE study involving 26,000 participants in 32 countries:
- High blood pressure (responsible for 48% of strokes)
- Sedentary lifestyle
- High waist-to-hip ratio (abdominal obesity)
- Unbalanced diet
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Atrial fibrillation
- Diabetes
- Stress and depression
- Dyslipidemia
The FAST acronym for recognizing a stroke
- F (Face): Is one side of the face paralyzed?
- A (Arm): Can an arm no longer be lifted?
- S (Speech): Is speech slurred?
- T (Time): It's an emergency, call 112
Daily Prevention
- Control blood pressure
- Quit smoking (stroke risk returns to normal in 5 years)
- Engage in 30 minutes of physical activity per day
- Screen for and treat atrial fibrillation
#Stroke#Prevention#Risk Factors
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