A stroke is referred to as a cardiovascular accident. Many accidents are preventable and most strokes are not an exception. Our heredity and lifestyle help determine if we will have a stroke or not. While most consider stroke a disease of older people many of the factors that influence whether or not one will have a stroke occur when one is young. Some of the predisposing factors for strokes that can be controlled are: being overweight, eating an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, diabetes, smoking, stress, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Factors that can not be controlled are family history of stroke and being male. It is important to take control of the factors that we can early in life; however any change made even at an older age help to protect one.

There are two kinds of strokes: one where a blood vessel breaks and there is bleeding in the brain and the second and far more common one is when a clot or piece of plaque blocks an artery. The symptoms are the same. Symptoms may include paralysis, speech difficulties, difficulty swallowing, visual and sensory disturbances or loss of consciousness. People sometimes have mini strokes where they will have numbness or tingling on one side of their body, visual disturbances, dizziness or weakness in the face or hand. This is usually transient and symptoms go away in a short time. If these symptoms occur they should not be ignored. Left untreated many people will develop a full blown stroke within the next few months.

Recently I have received a couple of emails requesting information regarding how to tell if someone is having a stroke. There are three questions to present:

• Ask the individual to smile,
• Ask him to raise both arms,
• Ask him to speak a simple sentence.

If he has problems with any of these activities then he is possibly having a stroke and 911 should be called to transport him to the hospital immediately. I would like to emphasize that these are not the only symptoms of a stroke and if a person is having difficulty walking, severe dizziness, visual disturbance or numbness on one side of the body he should immediately be taken to an emergency care facility. There are now drugs available that can be given during a limited time after onset of symptoms that may completely reverse the outcome of the stroke.

As always an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Some important prevention options we have are to change our lifestyle habits that may lead to stroke: lose weight if needed, eat healthy, control ones blood sugar if one is a diabetic, and maintain a normal blood pressure and cholesterol. Screenings are available that will help identify blocked carotid arteries which are present prior to many strokes but do not present symptoms. Life Line Screening is available in many states to assess the risk of stroke. Call 1-800-324-1851 to find out if there is testing in your area.