What is stroke?
Stroke happens if the blood supply required for the brain gets interrupted or reduced hence, preventing it from getting enough oxygen and nutrients which causes the brain cells to die.
Other people are at risk of stroke because of their family history or their age. However, experts say that up to 80% of strokes can be prevented.
Start with these easy steps we are listing below. If continued with discipline, these can help prevent stroke.
STEP 1: Don’t smoke that last cigar
An expert said that quitting smoking is the easiest task to prevent stroke. So, start today by reducing one stick of cigarette. Increase the number each week and try to fight your cravings by creating a 5-minute strategy which was recommended by NHS. They said in an article that cravings can last up to 5 minutes so while you are at it, make some diversion by either chewing a gum or candy or do some stretching or a bit of exercise as it can help your brain produce anti-craving chemicals. You can also make non-smoking friends or go to non-smoking places to help you even better.
Try to be consistent to ensure that you progress – meaning to lessen your consumption more each week – because a person who smokes 5 cigarettes per day increases his/her risk of stroke by 12%.
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STEP 2: Take a 10-minute break from sitting
Out of 60 minutes, 10 must be spent moving around. This can help you start to lower your risk by 25%-30%! Yes. It’s that big. Because being physically active positively affects the three factors that can reduce the risk of stroke: blood pressure, cholesterol level, and body weight.
Dr. Cheryl Bushnell, a neurologist and director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said that walking is the best exercise there is. The phrase “be physically active” might be intimidating but it could be as simple as walking and moving around for 10 minutes with every hour of sitting.
STEP 3: Check your blood pressure
Hypertension is another term for high blood pressure and is the leading cause of strokes. Hence, it is important to know if your blood pressure is normal – less than 120/80. To start this, you can go to a clinic to have your BP checked or you can self-check using a BP home monitor. Do this daily, at the same time every day, to keep track your blood pressure. In case your BP is out of the healthy range, the best way to control it goes back to living a healthy lifestyle which takes us back to being physically active, quitting cigar, and a healthy diet.
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STEP 4: Choose water or an all-natural fruit juice
There are two things you need to know why water and fruit juice is a better choice than other beverages. One, Aa US study says that fizzy drinks, coffee, tea, and alcohol can make cigarette taste better. Second, fizzy drinks like cola have high sugar content. Choosing water or an all-natural fruit juice the next time you feel thirsty can do wonders to your body.
STEP 5: Choose a vegetable-topped pizza
A high consumption of salt can cause hypertension. To avoid this, one can only take up as much as 2,300 milligrams (mgs) of sodium and below and an ideal limit of 1,500 mg for adults with high blood pressure and older people based on the American Heart Association’s recommendation.
To start changing your salt intake, you may opt for a vegetable variant of pizza instead of meat or pepperoni as these kinds may contain 1/3 of a regular person’s daily recommended dietary sodium.
You also need to identify the other high-sodium foods that you eat daily and practice the strategies to help you control your sodium intake.
Start today with these five easy steps because stroke is not just for older people – recent studies shows that hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes cause stroke in younger adult.
These five easy steps plus commitment and consistency will provide you good protection against stroke.
Source:
https://www.webmd.com/stroke/guide/understanding-stroke-prevention
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/05/05/5-critical-steps-to-help-prevent-a-stroke
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stroke/prevention/
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