The stroke solidarity string is a collection of indigo threads with a medallion, in support of creating a more stroke-aware world. “Wear it, show it, share it” is the way the UK-based Stroke Association puts it. You can order it online for £12.50 at www.stroke.org.uk/shop/product. The idea is to start a conversation.
“People are fairly aware now on the symptoms of a heart attack, and sometimes they even overestimate them, which is a good thing. But a stroke can be painless and there can be many different symptoms, from a transient numbness to speech slurring,” says Dr Satish Satyanarayana, a neurosurgeon at Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru. Here, he tells us what to keep in mind by way of prevention, because 60% of the risk-factors are lifestyle-driven and modifiable. If you have more than one risk factor, obviously the risks multiply.
- Exercise to guard against obesity. Upto 80% strokes are ischemic in nature, which means they’re caused by a blockage in the artery that supplies blood to the brain. This blockage is usually a blood clot. The other type of stroke, called hemorrhagic, is when blood leaks from a blood vessel, due to a variety of causes.
- Quit smoking. “Smoking makes you twice as likely to die if you have a stroke, and the more you smoke, the greater your risk of stroke. If you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you are six times more likely to have a stroke compared to a non-smoker,” says the Stroke Association.
- Take your cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes medication. “We find people who quit medication after a few months, or turn to Ayurveda or homeopathy, and then suffer a stroke,” says Dr Satyanarayana. The American Stroke Association says that up to 75% of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease, stroke being one of them.
- Cut down on alcohol consumption. A meta-analysis published in BMC Medicine found that “heavy drinking was associated with increased risk of all stroke types with a stronger association for hemorrhagic strokes.”