The Facts on Stroke

Remember, knowledge is power. The team at Qualicare wants to keep giving you the knowledge you need in order to keep your loved one as safe and healthy as possible as he or she ages. For this blog, we want to focus on stroke awareness.

Protect Your Loved One’s Brain Health

Did you know that most strokes can be prevented? In fact, according to the National Stroke Association, about 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. While you might not be able to control everything in life, there are some stroke risk factors that you can control. Read on for a look at these controllable risk factors.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke, so it’s important to maintain a normal blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends aiming for optimal pressure levels of less than ¹²⁰⁄₈₀ mmHg. To maintain healthy blood pressure, help your loved one quit smoking, reduce sodium intake (both from salt use and processed foods) and fit in some kind of exercise regularly.

If your loved one has diabetes, he or she is at an increased risk of stroke. Therefore, it’s important that your loved one do his or her best to keep blood sugar levels within a normal range. To do this, he or she will need to take medications as prescribed and follow lifestyle recommendations laid out by a doctor.

Finally, excess weight can also play a huge role in a person’s risk of suffering a stroke. As a result, it’s important to help your loved one maintain or reach a healthy weight through diet and exercise. Even if your loved one cannot go out and run a marathon, something as simple as 30 minutes of walking daily spread out in 10-minute increments can make a big difference in his or her health overall.

Did your loved one suffer a stroke? Visit the Qualicare website today to learn how our team can help care for your loved one while he or she recovers.