Stroke Risk Factors
Risk Factors We Can’t Control
- Age (after age 55, your chance of having a stoke is twice as likely)
- Gender (stroke occurs more often in men than in women)
- Race (you have a higher risk for stroke if you are an African-American)
- Heredity (you have a higher risk for stroke if someone in the family has had a stroke)
Lifestyle Risk Factors
Many risk factors for stroke can be managed by living a healthy lifestyle. The neuroscience team at Miami Valley Hospital suggests:
- Control blood pressure
- Weight loss
- Low-fat diet (lowering cholesterol)
- Exercise
- Not smoking
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Reduce risk of heart disease
- Control heart rate irregularities (such as atrial fibrillation)
- Control blood sugar in diabetics (through proper diet and exercise)