When the blood supply to your brain is cut off, you suffer an attack commonly called a stroke. During a stroke parts of the brain may become permanently damaged, resulting in symptoms such as weakness or numbness on one side of the body, loss of speech, confusion, severe headache and loss of vision, among others. Some people who suffer strokes recover fully, but many are left with lasting disabilities.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa, strokes claim nearly 70 lives in South Africa every day, and nearly 240 people will suffer a stroke daily.
What causes a stroke?
Most strokes don’t have a single cause, according to the Hearth and Stroke Foundation of South Africa. Instead, many factors combined can increase the chance of heart disease that can eventually result in a stroke.
The biggest risk factors include uncontrolled blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (aFib). “Arrhythmia is common as people age. It is characterised by an irregular heart beat and although the arrhythmia is not dangerous per se, it is associated with clot formation in the heart, which may result in a stroke if these clots break off and travel to the brain,” explains Dr Jens Hitzeroth from the haematology department at UCT Private Hospital. To prevent this, use anticoagulants (blood thinners), he says.
How to lower your risk of stroke
“Stroke prevention is similar to prevention of coronary artery disease,” explains Dr Hitzeroth. While some risk factors are difficult to modify – such as age (the older you get, the higher the risk of a stroke), and gender (women are more at risk of a stroke than men), Dr Hitzeroth lists some precautions you can take to lower your risk of having a stroke.
- Do not smoke
- Be screened for – and if needed treated for – hypertension
- Be screened for – and if needed treated for – diabetes
- Exercise regularly
- Achieve and maintain an ideal body weight
- Check your cholesterol and get treatment if needed
- Follow a healthy diet – with many vegetables, and little refined sugar
For more information about strokes, visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa.
Click here to book a heart health screening at your nearest Clicks Clinic.
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