May is American Stroke Month

According to the American Stroke Association, about 795,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year--which means, on average, a stroke occurs every 40 seconds. May serves as American Stroke Month and there is no time like the present to learn about stroke prevention.

Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease that occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood that it needs to function.

The American Stroke Association notes some stroke risk factors are hereditary or are part of natural processes, including a prior stroke or heart attack, age, family history, gender or race. African Americans have almost twice the risk of experiencing a first-ever stroke compared to Caucasians.

Other risk factors can be changed or controlled, including high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol, poor diet and physical inactivity.

The American Stroke Association recommends the following to lessen your risk:

Eat a healthy diet.
Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all of the food groups. Choose foods like lean meats, fish and poultry without skin, vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Cut back on foods and beverages high in cholesterol, salt and added sugars.

Know your blood pressure.
People with normal blood pressure have about half the risk of stroke as those with high blood pressure.

Exercise every day.
Walk or do other forms of physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most or all days. Check with your doctor before beginning any exercise routine.

Stop smoking.
Nonsmokers have about half the risk of stroke as people who smoke cigarettes.

To learn more visit www.strokeassociation.org.

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