Risk Factors for Stroke
Everyone has some stroke risk. Risk factors include both controllable and uncontrollable risk factors. Controllable risk factors are those that you can change, often by making different lifestyle choices. Work to lower your risk factors as much as you can by managing your controllable risk factors.
According to the American Stroke Association, you are at a greater risk of having a stroke if you have one or more of the following controllable or uncontrollable risk factors.
Risk Factors
- Having high blood pressure
- Having high cholesterol
- Having a high red blood cell count
- Smoking
- Being overweight or obese
- Being inactive or lack of exercise
- Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption
- Cocaine/IV drug use
- Experiencing heart and/or vascular disease
- Having diabetes
- If you are a man, being aged 45 or older
- If you are a woman, being aged 55 or older
- Having sickle cell anemia. Your racial/ethnic group may be at higher risk for stroke than other groups. For example, African Americans are twice at risk of stroke.
- Having a family history of stroke
- Having a personal history of stroke of TIAs (mini strokes)
Prevention of future strokes
Your stroke recovery team will work with you to prevent secondary strokes through:
- Aggressive use of medications, such as blood pressure medications, statins and anti-platelets, as indicated in the secondary stroke prevention guidelines
- Treatment of atrial fibrillation, a disorder that prevents blood from pumping out completely of the heart and increases the chance of blood clots
- Treatment of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries
- Identification and treatment of carotid stenosis, the hardening of the neck arterie