Risk Factors

Prevention Is The Key

The good news is that a stroke can be prevented. The more risks factors that a person has, the higher the chance of having a stroke. The risk factors for a stroke include:

• Cigarette smoking
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Narrowing of the arteries, caused by a buildup of fatty deposits (plaque)
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol levels
• Obesity
• Excessive alcohol use
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Cocaine use
• Age (the older you are, the greater your chances of a stroke)
• Gender or sex (men have strokes more than women)
• Race (African Americans are more likely to have a stroke than any other race)
• Personal or family history of a stroke or warning signs of a stroke (TIA)

Reduce Risk Factors

The risk of a stroke can be reduced by:

• Quitting smoking
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Being physically active
• Controlling weight
• Eating a low fat diet
• Limiting alcohol use

Kentucky Lies in the Middle of the Stroke Belt

According to a new study, the number of first-time and recurrent strokes in the United States is approximately 750,000 each year. This is significant for Kentuckians because the Southeastern United States is known as the "Stroke Belt". In the Stroke Belt, death rates from stroke are consistently more than 10 percent higher than the national average. The Stroke Belt is made up of 12 contiguous states, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and the District of Columbia.

Exact causes for this higher incidence of mortality are unknown. Contributing factors may include geographic or environmental factors or to differences in lifestyle, including higher rates of cigarette smoking and a higher dietary intake of fat and salt.