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Stroke: Controlling Risk Factors

Taking care of your health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and habits will lower your risk of a stroke and possibly keep the condition at bay.

Stroke Risk Factors

After having a stroke or a transient ischaemic stroke (TIA), your risk of having another stroke or TIA becomes higher.

1 in 5 people who have had a stroke will suffer another stroke in 5 years. Poor control of risk factors will increase your chance of having another stroke.

It is important to control your risk of the first and subsequent strokes by:

Knowing what your stroke risk factors are
Controlling these stroke risk factors

Related: Blow to the Brain

What are the Risk Factors for Stroke? How can I Control my Risk Factors?

There are risk factors that you can control. These include:

1. High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

The most important known risk factor for stroke.

Uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk of stroke by four times.

2. High Cholesterol (Hyperlipidemia)

The main cause of high cholesterol is having a diet high in saturated fats (fats from animal foods).
High cholesterol has about two times the risk of heart disease, a contributor to stroke risk.

3. Diabetes

Uncontrolled diabetes over a long period of time can cause damage to your blood vessels and nerves. The risk of stroke is 1.5 times more in diabetic patients.

Related: Diabetes Hub

4. Smoking

If you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you are six times more likely to have a stroke compared to a non-smoker.

5. Irregular Heartbeat (Atrial Fibrillation or AF)

As a result of irregular heartbeat, the heart does not pump and empty the blood smoothly or completely. This increases the risk of clots forming in the heart and travelling to the brain.

AF increases the risk of stroke by five times.

6. Unhealthy Lifestyle

Being inactive, having an unhealthy diet, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and further strokes.

How to Reduce Risk of Stroke: