Stroke

Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the US. A stroke occurs when a clot blocks the blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in or around the brain bursts. In either case, parts of the brain become damaged or die. Stroke can cause weakness or numbness of an arm or leg on one side of the body or even one side of the face. It can also affect speech and language, vision, memory, emotions, and behaviors.

Key Facts

Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the US.
Each year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke.
A stroke occurs when a clot blocks the blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in or around the brain bursts.
The leading risk factor for stroke is hypertension or high blood pressure. Controlling your blood pressure is important to prevent strokes.

Prevention Tips

Some risk factors for stroke-heredity, age, gender, and ethnicity-you cannot change. However, whether you have these risk factors or not, you can reduce your risk by making healthy choices such as:

Control blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar.
Treat atrial fibrillation and other heart diseases.
Eat a healthy diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, and cholesterol.
Be physically active to help maintain a healthy weight.
Avoid (or stop) smoking, and limit alcohol use.