What is a Stroke? How Would You Answer?

 

Strokes have been seen in the Women’s Health Initiative in older women taking estrogen. Therefore, stroke information is important to women on estrogen as well as those that are not.

So, if you were asked, ”What is a stroke?,” how would you answer? We have all heard of someone who has had a stroke. According to the American Stroke Association, a person has a stroke every 45 seconds and every three minutes someone dies from a stroke.

Stroke is a cardiovascular disease that affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. It occurs when the oxygen and nutrients provided by the blood vessels are blocked by a blood clot or burst.

A stroke affects various body functions depending on what part of the brain is affected. It may cause paralysis, behavioral changes or memory loss; affect speech; and create other health problems.

Known risk factors for stroke are high blood pressure, tobacco use, diabetes mellitus, carotid artery disease, arterial fibrillation and others.

For a more extensive listing please visit the American Stroke Association at AmericanStroke.org

The risk factors previously listed can be controlled and/or treated. However, there are risk factors that cannot be changed. For example, age, gender, family history and ethnicity, and/or prior stroke or heart attacks.

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study III (NHANES III), from 1988 to 1994, the risk of stroke increased more than four times for women after the age of 45, while it increased two and a half times for men over 45 years of age. In 2001, 2.2% of the U.S. population had strokes. Strokes accounted for more than one of every 15 deaths in 2001. (AHA 2004 Statistics)

• Hypertension (high blood pressure) - 28 percent of adults, 20 years of age and older had high blood pressure in 1988-94. When asked 80% of this population had had their blood pressure measured in the last two years and 28% had hypertension. However, only 18% of adults, 18 or older with high blood pressure, have it under control.
   
• Cholesterol - Recently, cholesterol testing is routine during our yearly physical. Why? Because high LDL-cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) is a strong contributing factor to strokes, as well as other cardiovascular diseases. In 2001, approximately 50% of the U.S. population had cholesterol levels greater than 200mg/dl. A more staggering statistic is in children ages 4-19 whose average blood cholesterol level is 163 mg/dl. (AHA 2004 Statistics)
   
• Tobacco Use: - As of 2001, 22.8% of Americans use tobacco and approximately 80% of those individuals started using tobacco started using prior to age 18. The common age for starting is 14-15.
   

These are a few of the risk factors. We need to learn more about all of them and individually act on making changes.