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Stroke Risk Test

Nearly all major medical facilities and organizations provide various forms of a stroke risk test. Some are as simple as online or written assessments while others require laboratory testing.

  1. Identification

    • A written stroke risk test will initially assess individuals in two important areas: uncontrollable risk factors and controllable risk factors.

    Risk

    • Uncontrollable risk includes being over the age of 55, race, gender, family history of stroke and previous heart attack or stroke, according to the American Stroke Association. Controllable factors involve management of blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, diet, exercise and smoking cessation.

    Blood

    • Blood testing can ascertain certain stroke risk factors like the presence of diabetes and high cholesterol and triglycerides. "Triglycerides are a form of fat in your blood stream," says the U.S. National Women's Health Information Center. "High levels of triglycerides are linked to stroke."

    Significance

    • Carotid artery disease is a sure sign that the likelihood of stroke is increasing. A stroke risk test may include a physical examination with a doctor listening for telltale signs of carotid artery disease in the neck. "Your doctor may hear a 'swooshing' sound (bruit) over the carotid artery in your neck, a sound that's characteristic of a narrowed artery," according to the Mayo Clinic.

    Laboratory

    • Laboratory tests include an ultrasound, computerized tomography angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance angiography or a cerebral angiogram.

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