May is Stroke Awareness Month

Guest Author: Melis Gumusoglu, Intern at Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Around 795,000 people in the United States are the victims of a stroke and may have long-term impacts on their quality of life because of it. Brain injury is a common consequence of stroke and can result in problems receiving and expressing information, slurred speech, a hard time processing information and decreased cognitive skills.

May is Stroke Awareness Month, in honor of this we wanted to inform our readers of some preventative measures. According to the American Stroke Association there are a few things people can do prevent strokes:

• Monitor your blood pressure.
• Control your cholesterol.
• Keep your blood sugar down.
• Get active.
• Eat better.
• Lose weight if you need to.
• Don’t smoke.
• Talk to your doctor about aspirin or other medications.

Strokes are the number 1 preventable cause of disability and can affect people at any age, which is why learning how to better prevent them is so important.

To spread awareness about strokes and their impact use #StrokeMonth

 

Citations: American Stroke Association, Cleveland Clinic