Daily Vitamina

You may not even realize it but there are certain things you’re doing that could cause a stroke.

Wondering how to avoid having a stroke?

Stroke is the number three killer in the United States, affecting almost 800,000 people each year, according to the National Stroke Association.

These “brain attacks” occur in two ways, either when blood flow to the brain is interrupted (an ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts (a hemorrhagic stroke).

For 144,000 people each year, the result is death. Hundreds of thousands of others are left with long-term disabilities.

Both uncontrollable and controllable risk factors play important roles in deciding who get strokes and who does not, such as genetics, age and race – for example, the prevalence of stroke in blacks is about twice that of whites.

Also, stroke prevalence is more than twice as high in individuals with fewer than 12 years of education, compared to college graduates.

In addition, stroke risk in people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is double that of the general population. Various studies have shown this.