Cardiology physicians believe that the risk of stroke is almost ten times higher in someone who has already had a stroke in the past than one who has not encountered it ever. But fortunately, stroke can be prevented.

Heart specialists advice people who have had stroke in the past to address the issues that caused stroke earlier. Proper medical treatment should be availed for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, and other medical causes that may have caused stroke. In addition, one must make certain lifestyle changes as well in order to lower down one’s risk of getting stroke.

Heart doctors Orlando at FHG share certain useful tips that can help one lower down one’s risk of getting stroke.

Keep your blood pressure low
High blood pressure puts tremendous pressure on the arterial walls, ultimately weakening them. Continued pressure on the walls of the arteries damages them in the long run and makes them vulnerable to clogging or burst. This often leads to stroke. By managing your blood pressure level, you can reduce your risk of stroke. By reducing your salt intake you can keep your blood pressure under control. You must take medicines to lower down your blood pressure if your doctor recommends the same.

Reduce your weight
If you are overweight, you must work to achieve optimum weight as obesity is one of the prime causes of stroke. Although there are several ways of reducing your weight, cardiology physicians recommend exercising, eating low fat, fiber-rich food, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide you with the essential vitamins and minerals without adding any harmful calories to your body. Eating lean meats, consuming skimmed dairy products, and cutting back on fried and junk food also help in dealing with obesity.

Health experts advice people to do aerobic exercises, go for walk, do cycling, and swimming to knock off extra pounds. Exercising is also good for keeping your heart healthy and is found to be effective in lowering risk of heart disease.

Make healthy food choices
Cardiology physicians ask people to make healthy food choices in order to lower down their risk of stroke and heart disease. There are many heart healthy foods that help lower cholesterol, keep diabetes in control, and refurbish the body with all the vitamins and minerals that are essential for keeping the heart, as well as other body organs in good condition.

Whole grain bread, rice, and pasta, fish, soya, beans, fruits such as apples, bananas, cantaloupes, pomegranates, and fresh vegetables, yoghurt, poultry, lean meats, and olive oil are to name but a few of the many things that are good for your heart and should be consumed every day if you want to reduce your risk of stroke, heart failure, and heart disease.

Give up smoking
Cigarette smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for stroke. Cardiology physicians point out that second hand smoking or passive smoking is as risky as active smoking. So, by quitting smoking you can not only lower down your own risk of stroke, but also of others around you.

Limit your alcohol intake
Excessive drinking also increases your risk of stroke. If you take more than two drinks every day, you are almost 70% at a higher risk of getting stroke than someone who doesn’t drink at all. You must avoid drinking on a daily basis. If you can not avoid drinking, take help from a rehab center or talk to your doctor as to how you can overcome your drinking habit.

For advice and consultation on stroke-causes, symptoms, treatments, and prevention call our heart experts at FHG.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Research has revealed that the biggest risk factor for stroke is Atrial Fibrillation. Other risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking, heavy drinking, drug abuse, and use of oral contraceptives.

Atrial Fibrillation is a heart disease. It is a type of arrhythmia, a condition of irregular heart rhythm. In normal circumstances, the heart beats in a steady rhythm. In Atrial Fibrillation, a problem occurs with the heart’s electrical system which makes the heart fibrillate or quiver. This quivering disturbs the normal rhythm of the heart as a result, the lower parts beat fast and with irregular rhythm.

Cardiology physicians in Florida explain how Atrial Fibrillation increases the risk of stroke. When the heart doesn’t beat strongly, it causes the blood to collect in the atria. This causes blood clots to form. When the heart pumps the clot in to the bloodstream, there are increased chances of the clot traveling down to the brain and obstructing the blood flow-resulting in the stroke. Heart specialists state that in some cases Atrial Fibrillation can also lead to heart failure.

Cardiology experts state that there are several reasons that may cause Atrial Fibrillation. High blood pressure, Heart attack, heart valve disease, and coronary heart disease are the major causes of atrial fibrillation. Lung disease, pneumonia, hyperthyroidism, alcohol abuse, drug abuse especially cocaine, and excessive intake of caffeine, nicotine, and certain prescription medicines like albuterol are some other risk factors that have been associated with Atrial Fibrillation.

Heart specialists advice people to know about the symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation. Knowing about them would help one to seek timely treatment and avoid serious complications.

Some of the common symptoms of atrial fibrillation are feeling dizzy, short of breath, unusual fatigue, a feeling that heart is fluttering, is racing, or is beating unevenly, pain in the chest, and fainting. If you experience any of these symptoms, you must immediately see your doctor. The doctor would carry certain tests to find out whether you have atrial fibrillation or not. He would most probably do an ECG-Electrocardiogram to diagnose the problems with the heart’s electrical system.

Since Atrial Fibrillation is a heart disease, cardiology physicians at FHG advice people to make certain lifestyle changes to improve the condition of their heart. By eating a heart healthy diet, doing regular exercise, keeping a check on your blood cholesterol and blood pressure, avoiding alcohol and nicotine, and quitting smoking you can successfully reduce your risk of getting atrial fibrillation and ultimately reduce your risk of stroke.

Every six seconds, regardless of age or gender, someone will die from stroke.

That’s a sobering statistic put out by the World Stroke Organization (WSO).

Because stroke affects so many people, the WSO has designated October 29th as “World Stroke Day.” The goal is to promote stroke awareness to the international community and working towards pushing stroke to the forefront of the global health agenda.

This year’s theme for World Stroke Day is “One in Six: Act Now,” which highlights the reality that one out of every six people worldwide has a stroke. Stroke is the second-leading cause of death in the world behind heart disease. In the United States, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies of one every three to four minutes.

BUT STROKE CAN BE PREVENTED!



The World Stroke Organization wants you to Act Now by taking these six challenges to lower stroke risk:

    1.    Know the risk factors for stroke— high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and high blood cholesterol — and keep them in a healthy range.
    2.    Be physically active.
    3.    Eat a healthy diet.
    4.    Limit alcohol consumption.
    5.    Avoid cigarette smoke. If you smoke, seek help to stop now. (Florida Heart Group can help. Click HERE.)
    6.    Learn to recognize the warning signs of a stroke and how to take action. Here is an in-depth look at the symptoms of a stroke: Click HERE.

For more information, visit http://www.worldstrokecampaign.org or take the STROKE I.Q. test from the American Heart Association: Click HERE.