Who Is Most Likely To Be At Risk Of A Stroke?
There are many who are at risk for a stroke; however, to prevent a stroke there are certain things you and I can do such as getting regular checkups, eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise. When a stroke occurs, a person loses control of their movement, speech, perception or other bodily functions. In addition, one can also lose consciousness.
There are certain symptoms of a stroke that everyone should be aware of such as:
• Loss of vision, coordination, strength, speech and sensation
• A sudden weakness or numbness in the face, leg or arm; often occurring on one side of the body.
• Dimness of vision
• Loss of balance; accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hiccups, fever or trouble with swallowing
• Sudden onset of a headache; followed by a loss of consciousness.
• Unexplained fall or dizziness
• Brief loss of consciousness.
If any of these symptoms occur suddenly, consult your doctor or seek ER treatment immediately. Early treatment is necessary to prevent a disabling or fatal stroke.
It is important to keep in mind that there are certain conditions and traits that make a person more susceptible to a stroke such as having high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, heart disease, brain aneurysms, age, gender, race and genetics. However, other risk factors for a stroke should be considered such as drinking and drug use, high cholesterol levels, a poor diet, a lack of physical exercise, being overweight, depression and stress.
Statistics show that 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year in the U.S. Some may not know it but age is no respecter when it comes to strokes. In 2009 about 150,000 people died for heart disease and they were younger than 65. Most importantly, African American adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than Caucasian men. In addition, almost 422,000 American women die from heart disease each year. Also, it has been found that people who have severe mental disorders are 25 percent to 40 percent more likely to die from heart disease than those who are mentally healthy.
The two highest risk factors of a stroke are inactivity and obesity; followed by high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes. After a stroke, rehabilitation is needed such as: with walking, cooking, paying bills, talking, troubles with depression, having paralysis one side of their body and some needing nursing home care.
It is important to note that stroke is a major cause of mortality in the UK. Statistics show that around 110,000 strokes occur in England each year. Currently in the UK certain health policies are putting more emphasis on reducing strokes by advising obese patients to lose weight, advice and instruction on how to lower a person’s hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Other statistics of heart disease and stroke in the UK are:
• 180,000 British deaths (2009) or 1 in 3 of all deaths.
• Heart disease caused 1 in 5 deaths of men in the UK and 1 in 8 of women.
• In 2007/2008 9,000 more people died of CVD in the winter months compared to the summer months.
• UK CVD death rates are high compared to other Western European countries. In 2003 only Germany and Ireland had a higher rate.
• Nearly 266 million prescriptions are written in the UK in 2008 for CVD.
• Nearly half (46 percent) of all heart disease deaths are a result of coronary heart disease (CHD).”
Reference Links:
http://www.womens-health-advice.com/heart-disease/statistics-uk.html
