{"id":78,"date":"2010-11-12T16:39:35","date_gmt":"2010-11-12T16:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/?p=78"},"modified":"2024-08-28T11:55:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T10:55:29","slug":"risk-factors-and-secondary-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/?p=78","title":{"rendered":"Risk factors and secondary prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Some risks for stroke are preventable, others are not. The following will help you to work out what risk factors apply to the person you care for.<\/p>\n\n<object classid=\"clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000\"\n\t\t\tid=\"fm_prevent_risks_DND_34934865\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"flashmovie\"\n\t\t\twidth=\"700\"\n\t\t\theight=\"550\">\n\t<param name=\"movie\" value=\"wp-content\/uploads\/prevent_risks_DND.swf\" \/>\n\t<!--[if !IE]>-->\n\t<object\ttype=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\"\n\t\t\tdata=\"wp-content\/uploads\/prevent_risks_DND.swf\"\n\t\t\tname=\"fm_prevent_risks_DND_34934865\"\n\t\t\twidth=\"700\"\n\t\t\theight=\"550\">\n\t<!--<![endif]-->\n\t\t\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/adobe.com\/go\/getflashplayer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.adobe.com\/images\/shared\/download_buttons\/get_flash_player.gif\" alt=\"Get Adobe Flash player\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Preventable risks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Blood pressure.<\/strong> Keep blood pressure within safe limits by regular checks and medication if required<\/li>\n<li><strong>Smoking.<\/strong> Both smoking and passive smoking can increase risk. If you both smoke consider stopping smoking together. If you find it too difficult to stop just now, think about limiting where you smoke to specific areas and not in the presence of the person who has had a stroke \u2013 if they are trying to give up this also makes it easier for them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong> Maintain a healthy weight<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exercise<\/strong> Take regular exercise even a short walk everyday is better than nothing to start with. Build up gradually.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduce alcohol intake<\/strong> Try to have some alcohol free days as often as you can. Keep to safe levels. Avoid binge drinking<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diet<\/strong> Maintain a healthy diet by reducing salt, sugar and fat in your diet. Increase fruit, vegetables and fiber.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cholesterol<\/strong> Have your cholesterol levels checked and reduce if necessary by modified diet and medication.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diabetes<\/strong> <strong>Management<\/strong> If you are diabetic try to make sure your diabetes is controlled and monitored carefully<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drug abuse.<\/strong> Stroke is far more common if you have taken cocaine, heroin or amphetamines illegally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Non Preventable risks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Age\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Risk increases with age in all of us from 55 onwards.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gender<\/strong>\u00a0The likely chance of having a stroke is equal for\u00a0men\u00a0or women.\u00a0Risks increase if you have a\u00a0poor lifestyle and for all of us as we get older.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family history<\/strong> If your family has a history of stroke and heart disease there may be an increased risk for you. (However as much more is known about the causes and prevention of stroke and heart conditions even this risk is more preventable than it once was. With a healthy lifestyle this risk can be reduced in comparison to previous generations)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Previous Stroke<\/strong> If you have had a stroke in the past there is an increased risk but it is not inevitable that you will have another as long as you take medical advice, appropriate medication and lifestyle advice. Secondary prevention will help.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ethnicity<\/strong>. Some ethnic groups have a higher incidence of stroke. South Asians and Afro-Caribbeans are in this group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\t<!--[if !IE]>-->\n\t<\/object>\n\t<!--<![endif]-->\n<\/object>\n<div id=\"accordion\" class=\"textAlt\">\n<p class=\"expand\"><a href=\"#\">View Text Alternative<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"expand\">\n<h3>Preventable risks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Blood pressure.<\/strong> Keep blood pressure within safe limits by regular checks and medication if required<\/li>\n<li><strong>Smoking.<\/strong> Both smoking and passive smoking can increase risk. If you both smoke consider stopping smoking together. If you find it too difficult to stop just now, think about limiting where you smoke to specific areas and not in the presence of the person who has had a stroke \u2013 if they are trying to give up this also makes it easier for them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong> Maintain a healthy weight<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exercise<\/strong> Take regular exercise even a short walk everyday is better than nothing to start with. Build up gradually.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduce alcohol intake<\/strong> Try to have some alcohol free days as often as you can. Keep to safe levels. Avoid binge drinking<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diet<\/strong> Maintain a healthy diet by reducing salt, sugar and fat in your diet. Increase fruit, vegetables and fiber.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cholesterol<\/strong> Have your cholesterol levels checked and reduce if necessary by modified diet and medication.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diabetes<\/strong> If you are diabetic try to make sure your diabetes is controlled and monitored carefully<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drug abuse.<\/strong> Stroke is far more common if you have taken cocaine, heroin or amphetamines illegally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Non Preventable risks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Age<\/strong>&#8211; risk increases with age in all of us from 55 onwards.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gender<\/strong> Statistically more men than women have strokes. However a poor lifestyle is more important than gender<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family history<\/strong> If your family has a history of stroke and heart disease there may be an increased risk for you. (However as much more is known about the causes and prevention of stroke and heart conditions even this risk is more preventable than it once was. With a healthy lifestyle this risk can be reduced in comparison to previous generations)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Previous Stroke<\/strong> If you have had a stroke in the past there is an increased risk but it is not inevitable that you will have another as long as you take medical advice, appropriate medication and lifestyle advice. Secondary prevention will help.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ethnicity<\/strong>. Some ethnic groups have a higher incidence of stroke. South Asians and Afro-Caribbeans are in this group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For more information see:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chss.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/E12-Reducing-the-Risk-WEB.pdf\">CHSS: Reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/carotid-endarterectomy\/\">NHS: Carotid Endarterectomy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.world-stroke.org\/assets\/downloads\/STROKE_RISK_AND_PREVENTION_LEAFLET_SMOKING-EN.pdf\">World Stroke Organisation: Understanding smoking and stroke<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_6596\" style=\"width: 208px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6596\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Scotlands-Charter.png\" alt=\"CHSS supports the Charter for a smoke free generation in Scotland by 2034 to protect young people and support positive health choices.\" width=\"198\" height=\"202\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-6596\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CHSS supports the Charter for a smoke free generation in Scotland by 2034 to protect young people and support positive health choices.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some risks for stroke are preventable, others are not. The following will help you to work out what risk factors apply to the person you care for. View Text Alternative Preventable risks Blood pressure. Keep blood pressure within safe limits &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/?p=78\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[166,240,271,246,126],"class_list":["post-78","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stroke-cause-and-effects","tag-cholesterol","tag-diabetics","tag-heart-disease","tag-risk","tag-secondary-prevention"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6811,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions\/6811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stroke4carers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}