Stroke Prevention 

Stroke prevention depends on a series of factors that place a person at risk for stroke. Some stroke risk factors can be controlled, others cannot.

Uncontrollable factors:

Age
The chance of having a stroke approximately doubles for each decade of life after age 55.
 
Heredity (family history) and race
Stroke risk is greater if a parent, grandparent, sister or brother has had a stroke. African Americans have a much higher risk of death from a stroke than Caucasians do.

Sex (gender)
Stroke is more common in men than in women. However, more than half of total stroke deaths occur in women. 

 Prior stroke, TIA or heart attack
The risk of stroke for someone who has already had one is many times that of a person who has not.

Controllable Factors:

High Blood Pressure
Heart disease
High Cholesterol
Smoking
Excessive consumption of alcohol
Excess weight
Diets high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol
Inactivity

Stroke prevention starts with reducing these controllable factors, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly and avoiding smoking or excessive alcohol consumption. Sentara offers several community health programs for smoking cessation, heart health and exercise.

Learn more about:

 What is a Stroke?
 Types of Strokes
 Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke
 Stroke Effects
 Stroke Treatment