How to Avoid a Stroke

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Hill and today we're going to be talking about how to avoid a stroke. Now a stroke is one of the most devastating illnesses that can occur to anyone. A stroke occurs when for some reason the blood supply to the brain is inadequate. And really there are two kinds of strokes and the most common kind, the blood supply to the brain gets cut off because of a plaque in artery that brings blood to the brain. This is usually a result of long standing arterial disease; the same process that causes heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney failure. The other kind of stroke is a bleed that occurs within the brain; usually because of high blood pressure but occasionally because of the cerebral aneurysm. We're going to talk a little bit about both. The most important thing for avoiding a stroke is to reduce your risk factors for vascular disease; that's disease in the blood vessels as a whole. Check your blood pressure regularly and if it's over a 120/80 and I know that sounds low but that's what we're shooting for, talk to your doctor about ways that you might reduce your blood pressure. High blood pressure is among the most important risk factors for stroke and high blood pressure doesn't feel bad. Most people feel perfectly fine working around with a blood pressure. That's going to put them in very high risk for a stroke. Second of all, don't smoke. Smoking absolutely destroys the insides of blood vessels and smoking is a quick way to guarantee an early stroke and other form of heart and blood vessel disease as well. Thirdly, know what your cholesterol is and if it's elevated, do the things you need to do whether it's medication, exercise, diet or combination of all three to get that blood pressure down. Now it's very important that you and the people who live with you or work around you know the early signs and symptoms of a stroke because if you can get treatment in the first hour or even in the first three hours, your chances of having permanent damage for a stroke are significantly reduced and if you're having a stroke, your judgment, your ability to respond to the symptoms may not be completely intact. You may really need help from the people around you. If you have difficulty producing words, speaking, understanding people around you; if suddenly you find one part of your body weak; one arm, one leg, one entire side, part of your face; if you have darkening or loss of vision on one side or on both sides; if you have a sudden loss of balance; all of these things may be signs and symptoms of stroke. Confusion, any numbness or tingling that comes on suddenly and affects a certain part of your body, those things should never be ignored even for a minute. Seek care immediately. Call EMS if you are in an area where you can't do that and be transported to a hospital because when you are having a stroke, seconds count. Every second is some brain tissue that might be saved. So talking about avoiding strokes, I'm Dr. David Hill."