Stroke signs and prevention has been top of mind recently, and May is National Stroke Prevention Month. Kathleen Winston, PhD, Dean, College of Nursing at University of Phoenix has compiled very useful tips and information to help you prevent a stroke from coming on. These tips combined with a general understanding, overview of stroke will help middle, and older adults avoid becoming a disability statistic.

We’ve all heard about someone having a ‘heart attack’ but, we hear less often about someone having a ‘brain attack,’ but both are life threatening conditions characterized by a lack of blood flow to our most vital organs.

Some of the little known facts about stroke come from the National Stroke Center who report:
800,000 strokes occur each year
Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S.
A stroke happens every 40 seconds
Every 4 minutes someone dies from a stroke
80% of strokes can be prevented

Stroke or Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) can be prevented by mitigating the factors that put you at risk. Some risk factors for stroke are untreatable including age, race, gender and genetics but, many other risk factor are treatable and will reduce your chance of having a stroke even if your age, race, gender, or genetics predisposes you to on.

Think of the vascular system in the body as similar to the piping in your home. Those pipes need to remain clear and clean in order for the water to flow through easily to fill that bath that awaits you. Our arteries carry richly oxygenated blood through the entire body system, our nose to our toes, and it fuels the body’s vital organs.

When these tips are followed, the brain will be well oxygenated:

Quit Smoking – Smoking increases the formation of blood clots and thickens the blood which in turn creates blockage in the arteries.
This single change is considered the best tip for reducing the chances for having a stroke.
Drink in moderation – Alcohol can actually reduce the risk of having a stroke as long as the drink is limited to one per day.
The opposite impact on stroke risk follows when moderate drinking exceeds two drinks per day.
Exercise – This will achieve the other two prevention tips of weight loss and reduce blood pressure.
Five days per week of moderate exercise such as walking.
Lose weight – Reduce weight by establishing a practice of eating whole foods which will slow the aging process as well.
Lower your blood pressure – This is essential for reducing stroke risk and which once controlled will improve blood vessel health to allow rich oxygenated blood to travel to the brain.

Following these tips may not guarantee that you won’t succumb to a stroke, but you will give your blood vessels a reduced amount of stress, less rigidity and less blockage which will translate into a better flow through the pipes that keep our hearts and our brains thinking.