{"id":17453,"date":"2020-11-29T20:56:13","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T02:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=17453"},"modified":"2020-11-29T17:14:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T23:14:35","slug":"american-stroke-association-lists-five-ways-to-reduce-stroke-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2020\/11\/29\/american-stroke-association-lists-five-ways-to-reduce-stroke-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"American Stroke Association lists Five ways to Reduce Stroke Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-156268\" title=\"American Heart Association - American Stroke Association\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/American-Heart-Association-American-Stroke-Association-200x105.gif\" alt=\"American Heart Association - American Stroke Association\" width=\"200\" height=\"105\">Nashville, TN <\/strong>&#8211; Strokes can happen to anyone, at any age. And they don\u2019t stop because of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. About one in four people worldwide have a stroke \u2014 the world\u2019s No. 2 killer and a leading cause of disability. But up to 80% may be prevented.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why the American Stroke Association is emphasizing the importance of preventing stroke.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_328014\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Human-Brain.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-328014\" class=\"wp-image-328014 size-medium\" title=\"Amid COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, the American Stroke Association to focus on factors that Increase Stroke Risk. (American Heart Association)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Human-Brain-480x272.jpg\" alt=\"Amid COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, the American Stroke Association to focus on factors that Increase Stroke Risk. (American Heart Association)\" width=\"480\" height=\"272\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-328014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amid COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, the American Stroke Association to focus on factors that Increase Stroke Risk. (American Heart Association)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Much of what puts you at risk for a stroke (uncontrolled high blood pressure, smoking or obesity) increases your risk for complications due to COVID-19 Coronavirus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>American Stroke Association&#8217;s efforts include a focus on controlling high blood pressure, because it\u2019s the leading preventable cause of stroke.<\/p>\n<p>About half of United States adults have high blood pressure, and only 25% have it under control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Check your blood pressure&nbsp;regularly<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cChecking your blood pressure&nbsp;regularly and getting it to a healthy range is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of stroke,\u201d said Mitchell S. V. Elkind,&nbsp;M.D., M.S., FAHA, FAAN, president of the American Heart Association and professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University in New York City.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Control high blood pressure<\/h3>\n<p>These&nbsp;tips&nbsp;can help&nbsp;keep your blood pressure in a healthy range (120\/80)&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;and lower your stroke risk:\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Join <\/strong><strong>the team.<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>Work with your doctor and other health care professionals&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/health-topics\/high-blood-pressure\/high-blood-pressure-toolkit-resources?utm_source=national+news+release&amp;utm_medium=wire&amp;utm_campaign=world+stroke+day&amp;utm_term=fall&amp;utm_content=earned\" >manage&nbsp;your blood pressure<\/a>&nbsp;through lifestyle changes and\/or medication.\u202f&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Take medications <\/strong><strong>as prescribed.<\/strong>&nbsp;If you have been prescribed blood pressure medications, take them as prescribed.&nbsp; Check the labels on over the counter cold or flu medications, as some may elevate your blood pressure.&nbsp; If you have high blood pressure, NSAIDs may cause elevated blood pressure, consider acetaminophen instead.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eat colorful fruits and veggies<\/strong>.\u202fA heart-healthy diet\u202fmay help lower blood pressure over time.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rest up<\/strong>.\u202fGetting seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night can improve brain function. Sleep-related breathing issues may increase stroke risk, so seek treatment right away if you suspect sleep apnea or a similar problem.\u202f&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>\u202fPracticing mindfulness and being aware of your breathing may significantly reduce blood pressure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be active.<\/strong>\u202fAdults should get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (or a combination). Two days per week of moderate- to high-intensity muscle strengthening activity is also&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[470center]<\/p>\n<h3>Be&nbsp;an&nbsp;Empowered to Serve\u2122&nbsp;change maker<\/h3>\n<p>Reducing stroke risk&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;always just a matter of changing daily habits.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStructural racism and other forms of discrimination make it more difficult for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBT and other&nbsp;marginalized people&nbsp;to access the tools they need to fully control their risk factors for stroke,\u201d&nbsp;Elkind said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There is growing evidence that historically marginalized groups&nbsp;in the U.S.&nbsp;live with increased stress and reduced&nbsp;access to health\u202fcare,\u202fsocioeconomic and psychological factors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a result,&nbsp;up to\u202f40% of Black adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure and Black people who have a stroke are more than twice as likely to die from it than white people.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the American&nbsp;Stroke Association and American Heart Association, we\u2019re working with&nbsp;individuals, organizations, businesses and government to&nbsp;address the root causes of these inequities to ensure longer, healthier lives for all.&nbsp;It will take all of us, coming&nbsp;together to make change at individual and structural levels.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One way anyone can make change is by joining the American Heart Association and&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.empoweredtoserve.org\/en\" >American Stroke Association\u2019s&nbsp;EmPowered&nbsp;to Serve effort<\/a>, which focuses on&nbsp;driving change through health justice and empowerment in&nbsp;individual&nbsp;communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[470center]<\/p>\n<h3>Know the most common warning signs<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to managing your own risks, Elkind and the ASA advise all people to be ready to&nbsp;save a life by remembering the&nbsp;most common&nbsp;stroke warning signs using the acronym FAST \u2013 F for face drooping, A for arm weakness, S for speech difficulty and T for time to call 911.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting emergency medical treatment for a stroke is safe, even during the pandemic,\u201d Elkind&nbsp;said. \u201cCalling 911 helps treatment start even before you reach the hospital, improving chances for a better recovery.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nashville, TN &#8211; Strokes can happen to anyone, at any age. And they don\u2019t stop because of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. About one in four people worldwide have a stroke \u2014 the world\u2019s No. 2 killer and a leading cause of disability. But up to 80% may be prevented.&nbsp; That\u2019s why the American Stroke Association [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[2538,2975,12675,13258,215,549,284,12734,4413,2543],"class_list":["post-17453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-american-heart-association","tag-american-stroke-association","tag-coronavirus","tag-covi-19","tag-high-blood-pressure","tag-nashville","tag-nashville-tn","tag-pandemic","tag-sleep-apnea","tag-stroke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17453"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17456,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17453\/revisions\/17456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}