STROKE strikes young and old: reduce your risk now
Stroke is a debilitating condition which, although more common amongst the over 75's, can strike anyone at any age.
In addition to funding research into the prevention and treatment of stroke, the Stroke Association plays a pivotal role in increasing awareness of the risk factors involved with the condition.
Stroke
Risk Factors
Dr Tony Rudd is a Stroke Physician at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London. He says that anyone of us can have a stroke at any time. "It happens to children, it happens to teenagers and certainly as you get older into adulthood then the risks increase.” In fact, half of all strokes happen to people over the age of seventy-five. However, younger people need to be stroke aware.
Sue Robinson is a stroke survivor, who was 52 years old when she had a stroke. She recalls that she had “never been fitter in my life. I was swimming 50 lengths of the swimming pool every day and also doing a lot of yoga and a couple of sessions a week in the gym.” Sue had no idea that she might be at risk.
Avoiding Stroke
There are a number of things you can do to reduce your risk of suffering a stroke:
- Get your blood pressure checked regularly High blood pressure is a risk factor yet one which can be countered by various lifestyle changes; i.e. by moderating your diet, reducing your salt intake, exercising, losing weight, and, if necessary, taking prescribed medication.
- Get your cholesterol checked As high cholesterol is a significant risk factor, it is worth having yours checked (particularly if you have a family history of strokes) and, if it’s too high, making the appropriate lifestyle changes.Although sometimes hereditary and also caused by diet, high cholesterol can be lowered by reducing your intake of fatty meats and avoiding excessive amounts of cheese and eggs.
- If you smoke - STOP
- Additional factors such as prolonged bouts of stress and depression can contribute to long term health problems and increase your risk of suffering a stroke, so such issues also need addressing.
If you are of Asian, African and African-Caribbean origin your risk factor is automatically increased thus it is all the more important that you keep a regular check on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The Stroke Association continues working to improve services for stroke survivors. Joe Korner from the organisation stresses the importance of raising awareness of the condition, “There’s a low awareness of stroke, there are a lot of myths around about stroke and they hinder people’s recovery, the treatment and they hinder the development of good services locally, so the campaign that is being run now by the Government is extremely important in just making people talk about, think about stroke.”
For more information:
Email the Stroke Association for more information
Or call the Stroke Helpline on 0845 3033 100
