Stroke Risks – What are the Facts?

Most of us are aware of strokes and the fact that they can severely impair the way we live our lives. No one wants to suffer one, which is why finding out more about them is a good way to help lower the odds of having one in the first place.



Every single year around 150,000 people suffer from a stroke in the UK. When most people think of illnesses that result in death, they tend to think of heart disease and cancer as being the biggest killers. This is indeed true, but strokes come in third place on the list, so you can see they do account for many deaths each and every year.



Strokes can have varying degrees of severity, but however mild one might be it is essential to seek urgent medical help in all cases. This can help to prevent the severity and duration of the stroke, and improve the chances of recovering from it more readily.



Of course finding out the facts about strokes is only half the story. In reality we should also focus on how we can lower our chances of suffering from a stroke. This becomes even more important as we get older, although there is no doubt that getting into good habits at a young age is definitely beneficial.

One of the key risk factors for strokes is high blood pressure. This is something that many of us can work on in several ways. For instance one of the best ways to reduce blood pressure and also to reduce our stroke risk is to get regular exercise. Around thirty minutes a day is ideal and this doesn’t all have to be taken in one hit. Just ten minutes three times a day can make a big difference.



You can also lower your risk of having a stroke by eating a healthy and balanced diet. We all know we should do this of course, but it really can make a huge difference as far as the risks are concerned. Healthy eating reduces the risks of building up fatty deposits in the arteries and also reduces the risk of high blood pressure. Both of these things can contribute to someone’s stroke risk, so you can see it makes perfect sense to introduce some exercise and good eating into your life.



Even making small steps in the right direction to begin with can make a big difference. The more you exercise the better you will feel anyway, and this is likely to encourage you to do more in the long run. You can also do other things such as having a stroke risk screening, so you can get a more accurate idea of what the risk factors are for you.



In any event though, taking some positive steps to reduce the chance of having a stroke is a good idea for everyone.