Stroke: How to Prevent It

There are some things you can do to help prevent a stroke. It's important to try to prevent strokes because many very bad strokes are first-time events.

How can having a stroke affect me?

A stroke changes the life of not only the person who has the stroke but also their family and other caregivers. A stroke can lead to a brain injury.

A stroke is an emergency. It should be treated right away. You're more likely to get better after a stroke if you get help right away.

What can increase my risk?

• Diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
• High blood pressure.
• Diabetes.
• High cholesterol.
• Sickle cell disease.
• Problems with blood clotting.
• Sleep apnea.

• You're older than 60 years of age.
• You're very overweight.
• You're not very active.
• You've had a stroke or short-term symptoms of stroke (TIA) in the past.
• Someone else in your family has had a stroke.
• You smoke.
• You drink a lot of alcohol or use a lot of drugs.
• You take birth control pills, especially if you smoke.

What actions can I take to prevent a stroke?

Manage your health problems

• If you have high cholesterol:
  • Eat healthy.
  • Take medicines as told.
• If you have high blood pressure:
  • Eat foods that are good for your heart.
  • Take medicines as told.
  • Ask your health care provider if you should check your blood pressure at home.
  • Have your blood pressure checked every year.
• If you have diabetes:
  • Eat a healthy diet with balanced carbohydrates (carbs).
  • Get enough exercise.
  • Take medicines as told.
• Talk to your provider about getting checked for sleep apnea. Signs may be:
  • Snoring a lot.
  • Feeling very tired.

Nutrition

Eat or drink as told. You may be told to:

• Take in fewer calories each day.
• Limit how much salt, or sodium, you take in.
• Use only healthy fats for cooking. These include:
  • Olive oil.
  • Canola oil.
  • Sunflower oil.
• Count how many carbs you take in each day.
• Eat healthy. To do this:
  • Choose foods that are high in fiber. These include whole grains.
  • Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Try to fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables at each meal.
  • Choose low-fat (lean) proteins. These include low-fat cuts of meat, chicken without skin, fish, tofu, beans, and nuts.
  • Eat low-fat dairy products.
• Avoid foods that:
  • Are high in salt.
  • Have saturated fat.
  • Have trans fat.
  • Are high in cholesterol.
  • Are processed or pre-made.

Lifestyle

• Try to stay at a healthy weight.
• If you drink alcohol:
  • Limit how much you have to:
    • 0–1 drink a day if you're female.
    • 0–2 drinks a day if you're male.
  • Know how much alcohol is in your drink. In the U.S., one drink is one 12 oz bottle of beer (355 mL), one 5 oz glass of wine (148 mL), or one 1½ oz glass of hard liquor (44 mL).
• Do not smoke, vape, or use nicotine or tobacco.
• Stay away when other people are smoking.
• Do not use drugs.

Activity

• Get at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days, such as:
  • Fast walking.
  • Biking.
  • Swimming.

Medicines

• Take your medicines only as told.
  • You may be told to take aspirin or blood thinners to reduce your risk of forming blood clots.
• Avoid taking birth control pills. Talk to your provider about the risks of taking birth control pills if:
  • You're over 35 years old.
  • You smoke.
  • You get very bad headaches.
  • You've had a blood clot before.

Where to find more information

1. Go to the American Stroke Association at stroke.org.
2. Click on the magnifying glass.
3. Type "stroke prevention" in the search field and find the link you need.

Get help right away if:

• B - Balance. Feeling dizzy, sudden trouble walking, or loss of balance.
• E - Eyes. Trouble seeing or a change in how you see.
• F - Face. Sudden weakness or feeling numb in the face. The face or eyelid may droop on one side.
• A - Arms. Weakness or loss of feeling in an arm. This happens fast and often only on one side.
• S - Speech. Sudden trouble speaking, slurred speech, or trouble understanding what people say.
• T - Time. Time to call 911. Write down what time symptoms started.

• A sudden, very bad headache with no known cause.
• Feeling like you may throw up.
• Throwing up.

• Do not wait to see if the symptoms will go away.
• Do not drive yourself to the hospital.