Have regular medical exams and keep blood pressure in check You should see your family physician regularly to be guided on proper ways of taking care of your health. Specifically, to decrease risk of stroke, you need to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. Normal is around 130/85 or lower—at this number you need to watch your diet, perform physical exercises, and control your weight. If your blood pressure is 140/90 or higher, you need to start taking some forms of medications along with lifestyle changes, such as refraining from fatty and salty foods and having regular physical exercises. Inquire from your family physician if you have atrial fibrillation Atrial fibrillation is a medical condition where the beating of your heart is not abnormal. When your heart beats are not regular the flow of blood in the different chambers of your heart will not smooth and free flowing. When this happens, a large amount of blood stagnates inside your heart and this will lead to the formation of blood clots. If these are accidentally dislodged from your heart they will go with your bloodstream and travel all over your body. The worst scenario takes place when a clot, or clots, travel to any of your cerebral arteries and results in a stroke.

A stroke is a medical emergency, it occurs when the blood flow to your brain is stopped due to some reason. When the cells in your brain stop receiving blood, they start to die, and this causes serious damage to the brain. There are serious symptoms associated with a stroke, they can lead to lasting disabilities and even death in some cases. There are a variety of causes and types of strokes, read along to know about the three most common types of strokes: Transient ischemic attack: This type of stroke qualifies as a mini stroke or a warning to the actual stroke. TIA is due when a tiny clot temporarily blocks the blood flow to the brain, the symptoms of a TIA usually last only for a short period. Ischemic stroke: An ischemic stroke is similar to the transient ischemic stroke, but it lasts longer and can be more fatal than the latter. The blood clot in this case is usually due to atherosclerosis, which is a large quantity of fatty deposits located on the inner lining of a blood vessel. If the portion gets too much, it then breaks off and results in blocking the blood flow to the brain.

Stroke never comes without warnings and signs. If you pay attention, you will notice signs such as face drooping, difficulty in speech, and weakness in the arm that occurs before a person gets a stroke attack. Getting immediate medical help should be the priority when you notice any of these signs. A stroke is like an accident that takes place in the brain, the medical term for that accident is cerebrovascular accident (CVA). The brain loses its blood supply and the brain cells become blood deprived, and this is when a person gets a stroke. Along with the signs, there are some risk factors of a stroke and everyone needs to be aware of how to identify and prevent strokes attacks. High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels are the most common risk factors for strokes. Here are the things that cause high blood pressure and cholesterol: High blood pressure Another word for high blood pressure is hypertension. When the blood pressure is more than 140/90, the person has high blood pressure. It becomes severe when the pressure is more than 180/120. High blood pressure is dangerous and can lead to stroke and heart attack. Hypertension causes damage to brain by causing transient ischemic attack, dementia, and mild cognitive impairment other than just stroke.