With the lifestyle each one of us is leading, it is about time we understood what health hazards this lifestyle can lead us to. Stroke and heart failures may sound inevitable but they aren’t. The faster we realize this, the better we can help us and everyone around us limit the possibilities of a stroke impacting us.

According to data analysis of strokes in America, nearly 800,000 people get a stroke every year. To understand stroke, it is essential to know what causes it. The ultimate cause of a stroke is arteries unable to pump blood due to blood clot (arterial embolism) or plaque.

Identifying a stroke
To identify a stroke, you must know the symptoms. If you notice sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arms, or legs, especially on the outside of the body, or if you see them struggling with speaking and understanding what you’re saying, then that could be a sign of stroke. If there is a sudden problem in the vision in one or both the eyes, or dizziness or trouble in walking, that too could be because of a stroke.

Another way to find out if a person is having a stroke or not is by using the F.A.S.T method where F is for Face: ask the person to smile, if the smile is droopy, it’s a sign. A is for arms: ask the person to raise both his arms, if you see something is not right, take that as a sign. S is for speech: ask them to repeat what you are saying, if they find it difficult to repeat or do not understand what you are saying, do not waste Time and rush to get them medical assistance as T is for time.

Prevention is better than cure
To prevent a stroke, focus on lowering the blood pressure as high blood pressure increases your chances of having a stroke. High blood pressure is dangerous because it causes the heart to work harder than it should to pump out blood. Smoking, obesity or being overweight, too much salt in the diet, unprecedented alcohol consumption, stress, genetics, family history, thyroid disorders, and old age are common causes.

Foods that cause plaque are saturated fat”whole milk and cream, butter, high-fat cheese, processed meat (sausages, hot dogs, salami, bologna), ice-cream, palm, and coconut oil. Cutting down on saturated fats will help you prevent the occurrence of a stroke.

Avoiding trans-fat such as fried and fast food, microwave popcorn, savory snacks, frozen pizza, margarine, cake, cookies, cream filled cookies, dough-nuts, and more helps prevent stroke.