Risk Factors
There are many factors that increase a persons risk for having a stroke, some of these are unmodifiable while most of the factors can be modified by the individual. Changing as many of the modifiable risk factors as possible, especially when you have one or more of the unmodifiable risk factors is recommended.
Unmodifiable
Age - After the age of 55 the risk of having a stroke increases with the most common age being in the 70"s
Gender - men are more likely to have a stroke than women Ethnicity - African American and Mexican American are at the highest risk for having a stroke Family History - having a family history of stroke increases your risk to have one as well |
Modifiable
Hypertension - high blood pressure increases the stress on the body and increases the risk for stroke
Diet - diets high in fat and cholesterol increase the risk for stroke Activity level - the more active you are the less likely you are to have a stroke Smoking Obesity Diabetes Cardiovascular disease |
(Tsementzis, 2000)
(Ng, 2005)
(Ng, 2005)