October 23, 2024- Strokes are the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, and the leading cause of disability, according to the American Stroke Association and Fox News, however, 80% of them are preventable. This Monday, the American Stroke Association published updated guidelines for stroke prevention for the first time since 2014.
According to the updated guidelines, the key changes for stroke prevention include an understanding of what the risk factors are and having access to care to address the factors that may require medications, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Other prevention approaches include lifestyle changes, such as weight loss, being physically active, avoiding sitting all day during waking hours, eating a healthy diet (such as the Mediterranean diet), treating sleep apnea (which prevents optimal sleep at night) and quitting smoking.