How to Prevent a Stroke

The American Stroke Association would like everyone to think of a stroke as a "brain attack." Just like a heart attack, which is caused by the sudden loss of blood to your heart muscle, a stroke is a sudden loss of blood (oxygen and nourishment) to your brain. Frequently called a cerebral vascular accident, or CVA, a stroke attacks the brain and can lead to significant functional impairment. Sometimes strokes are considered small in nature and resolve quickly and are known as Transient Ischemic Attacks or TIAs. However, both CVAs and TIAs are serious physical insults to the brain-and prevention is key to brain health!

Things You'll Need

• Stroke education
• Understanding the major 5 warning signs
• Plan of action to prevent a stroke

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Instructions

• 1

  Know all five warning signs of stroke!
  1. Is your walking off balance?
  2. Is your speech slurred?
  3. Is one side of your body weaker than the other?
  4. Is your vision impaired?
  5. Do you have a severe headache?

• 2

  Work on developing a lifestyle that helps prevent strokes from occurring. Don't smoke or drink alcohol to excess. Review your diet and exercise patterns with your health care provider, and (slowly) make any necessary changes. People often set themselves up for failure by placing unrealistic demands on themselves.

• 3

  Talk to your health care provider about daily aspirin therapy. Low-dose aspirin (81 mg) has been studied and shown to be a significant and simple prevention/intervention if your overall health can tolerate it.

• 4

  Develop a daily "quiet time" for yourself. Meditate, pray, dream. Take 10 minutes out of your day and center yourself on relaxing and letting go. If you do not think you can find 10 minutes a day to meditate, then I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU START MEDITATING FOR 20! Everyone has a few minutes that they can use to heal themselves.

• 5

  Of course, see your health care provider on a regular schedule. Going to see your nurse practitioner or physician shouldn't only be when you're sick. Prevention rules!