11 Action Steps That May Prevent Strokes
As we discovered in our companion article "Learn Why 80% of Strokes are Preventable!" it is estimated that 750,000 Americans will experience a stroke this year.
Of this number, 160,000 will die and the rest will forever have their lives changed in significant and profound ways.
African Americans are twice as likely to die from a stroke as Caucasians and the rate of having their first stroke is almost double that of Caucasians.
One half of all African American women will die from either a stroke or heart disease.
For those with sickle cell anemia, 11% will have experienced a stroke by the age of 20.
Pretty depressing until you understand that, according to the National Stroke Association, "80% of strokes are preventable!" Everyone is at risk for a stroke but everyone also has the power to reduce this risk.
The rest of this article is designed to empower you with some simple steps to help you gain control in this area of your life.
Let's get started on helping you to make a significant difference in how strokes are going to affect our community.
Risk Factors:Uncontrollable vs.
Controllable! There are some uncontrollable risk factors for stroke like:age, gender, race, family history and a previous stroke or TIA.
Now, before we move to the controllable risk factors I would like to make some observations about two of these uncontrollable risk factors.
oAge.
Although you have no control over your chronological age, you do have the ability to reduce your biological age.
One of my subscribers recently shared with me that he has been making some gradual changes in his eating and exercise habits.
These changes have resulted in him losing over 10 pounds and having greater energy and stamina for his daily, work activities as well as his recreational endeavors.
Even though his chronological age will keep on moving forward, he has begun the process of improving his biological age.
This area is so important that our website at Aging No More is designed to address the aging issue with practical, everyday steps to slow down the aging process.
oFamily History.
If someone in your family has had a stroke, then you are at a higher risk for a stroke.
Part of this could be genetics and part of your family history could be lifestyle.
You have no control over the genetics but you certainly have control over your lifestyle.
You have the power to change the eating, drinking, smoking, and lifestyle choices that contributed to your family member's stroke.
The action steps we will talk about in this article will help you break the family history cycle.
As you can see, there are 5 uncontrollable risk factors of which 2 offer you some ability to take positive actions to lessen their impact.
The good news is that there are 8 controllable risk factors that you have a high degree of control over to help substantially reduce your risk for a stroke.
They are: oControl High Blood Pressure.
oControl Heart Disease especially Artial Fibrillation.
oStop Smoking.
oControl Alcohol Consumption.
oControl Your Cholesterol.
oControl Your Diabetes.
oControl Your Weight Through Diet, Exercise, and Nutrition.
oCheck for Other Circulatory Problems.
11 Steps That May Reduce Your Stroke Risk! These 11 steps will help you take a proactive approach towards reducing you risk for stroke.
Some of these steps are more fully developed in some of my other articles.
Step 1 - Go See A Qualified Physician.
If you do not know what your blood pressure reading is, what your cholesterol level is, or where your blood sugar level is at, then you must get these benchmarks measured as soon as possible.
These are the big three.
And while you are there have your physician check your heart and circulatory system especially the carotid arteries.
Step 2 - Make Sure Your Blood Pressure is under 120/80.
Anything over 120/80 is of concern and anything over 140/90 is a red flag to take action.
High blood pressure increases stroke risk 4-6 times and is the No.
1 risk factor for a stroke.
Step 3 - Make Sure Your Cholesterol Level is under 200.
Anything over 200 is of concern and anything over 240 is a red flag to take action.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 4 - Make Sure You Are Not Diabetic.
Diabetes is not something to play around with.
Not only does it increase your risk for stroke but it also affects so many other organ systems in your body.
There are many positive steps you can take to manage your blood sugar.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 5 - Control Your Weight.
If you are overweight by 30 pounds or more, then you need to make some positive changes in your eating patterns.
We are not talking about going on a diet.
Diets don't work.
Most people have dieted their way to their current overweight condition.
Please read my article "4 Keys to Changing Your Diet Into Successful Long Term Weight Loss!" which will teach you how to incorporate some simple techniques that can make a major impact on your weight and overall health.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 6 - Increase Your Fiber Intake!At best the typical American is only getting 50% of the needed fiber in their diet.
This step is so important that we have prepared a separate article entitled, "4 Benefits and 3 Steps to Proper Fiber Intake!" Proper fiber intake may reduce 3 of the risks for stroke:cholesterol, diabetes, and overweight/obesity.
Step 7 - Increase Your Water Intake.
Proper water intake is fundamental to good health.
We talk about this in greater detail in our article "Is Water Really The Number One Ingredient for Slowing Down the Aging Process?"Bottom line you need an 8 ounce glass of water for every 15 pounds of body weight.
Coke, coffee, and other doctored beverages don't count.
Only pure water! Step 8 - Stop Smoking!You know this is a nasty habit.
Not only does smoking affect your lungs but it affects your heart, pulmonary arteries, liver and several other systems.
Once you stop smoking, your stroke risk from this activity will drop significantly within two years.
If you're a woman over 30 who smokes and takes high-estrogen birth-control pills your risk for a stroke is 22 times more likely than the average non-smoker!Take the steps today to stop this nasty habit.
Step 9 - Learn STR.
Smile, Talk, Raise could save your life and the life of a loved one!Recognizing the symptoms of a stroke and knowing what to do is incredibly valuable since you have a 3 hour window to significantly reduce the effects of a stroke.
Please, go to our Synergy Encode Product website and click on "STR Poster" to print off a special poster that completely explains STR.
Share it with family, friends, and neighbors.
Ask your barber, hair stylist, and local merchant to display it in a prominent place for as many as possible to see.
Help us to educate your community so that your quick response could be the difference between life or death, permanent disability or significant recovery.
Step 10 - Consider L-Arginine Supplementation through Two Products:ENCODE or ProArgi9.
Genetic research has uncovered a significant genetic variance that directly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in many people of African descent.
The problem lies in the body's too rapid break down of an essential amino acid, L-Arginine, which can lead to weakened or damaged blood vessels.
This can significantly increase the risk for heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes.
Researchers at Duke University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute recently discovered one of the keys to the cause of pain in sickle cell disease.
Normal red blood cells release a signaling molecule called nitric oxide that tells the arterial walls to expand.
When sickle cells change from oval to sickle, the ability to release this signaling molecule is lost.
The Duke University researchers noted that the degree of nitric oxide deficiency directly correlated with symptom severity for those with sickle cell anemia.
When nitric oxide was administered their symptoms were relieved.
Research from the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine showed that the primary pathway for creating nitric oxide in the body came from the essential amino acid L-Arginine.
Due to a genetic variance, African Americans produce too much of an enzyme called arginase.
In the bloodstream, arginase destroys L-Arginine so that it is no longer available for the production of nitric oxide.
ENCODE was formulated by Dr.
Ann de Wees Allen, one of the most renowned L-Arginine researchers in the world.
With the help of Dr.
Clair Francomano and Dr.
Randall Maxey, Dr.
Allen was able to genetically engineer a low-glycemic delivery system for L-Arginine specifically designed to address this issue in the African American community.
The patent for ENCODE is pending but it is derived from Dr.
Allen's other low-glycemic, L-Arginine product called ProArgi9.
With the patent for ProArgi9, Dr.
Allen was granted 15 legal claims.
Of these 15 legal claims, 4 have a direct bearing on the cardiovascular system.
They are: oLegal claim 5 - Aids in decreasing body fat oLegal claim 7 - Helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels oLegal claim 12 - Is an adaptogen oLegal claim 14 - Helps produce Nitric Oxide These 4 items may be beneficial in reducing the risk for stroke since "decreasing body fat" helps in weight management, "helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels" aids in controlling blood sugar, "is an adaptogen" helps in blood pressure regulation, and "helps produce Nitric Oxide" which has been shown to be a critical factor for proper cardiovascular function.
Step 11 - Control Your Alcohol Consumption.
For most, moderate drinking doesn't greatly affect their risk of stroke.
"Moderate" drinking means limiting your alcohol intake to no more than one drink per day.
By definition, a "moderate" drink is 1.
5 oz.
of hard liquor, 4 oz.
of wine, or 12 oz.
of beer.
Drinking more than 2 drinks per day may increase your stroke risk by 50%.
We hope these 11 Steps will be a direct benefit to you in reducing your risk for stroke.
We've given you some very specific steps that you can take today to start you on the path towards reducing your risk for stroke while improving your overall health and wellness.
Please search our other articles at our Aging No More website as they will give you greater details on how to make other positive changes in your life.
Together we can empower our community to better health so that we can positively impact our world.
Of this number, 160,000 will die and the rest will forever have their lives changed in significant and profound ways.
African Americans are twice as likely to die from a stroke as Caucasians and the rate of having their first stroke is almost double that of Caucasians.
One half of all African American women will die from either a stroke or heart disease.
For those with sickle cell anemia, 11% will have experienced a stroke by the age of 20.
Pretty depressing until you understand that, according to the National Stroke Association, "80% of strokes are preventable!" Everyone is at risk for a stroke but everyone also has the power to reduce this risk.
The rest of this article is designed to empower you with some simple steps to help you gain control in this area of your life.
Let's get started on helping you to make a significant difference in how strokes are going to affect our community.
Risk Factors:Uncontrollable vs.
Controllable! There are some uncontrollable risk factors for stroke like:age, gender, race, family history and a previous stroke or TIA.
Now, before we move to the controllable risk factors I would like to make some observations about two of these uncontrollable risk factors.
oAge.
Although you have no control over your chronological age, you do have the ability to reduce your biological age.
One of my subscribers recently shared with me that he has been making some gradual changes in his eating and exercise habits.
These changes have resulted in him losing over 10 pounds and having greater energy and stamina for his daily, work activities as well as his recreational endeavors.
Even though his chronological age will keep on moving forward, he has begun the process of improving his biological age.
This area is so important that our website at Aging No More is designed to address the aging issue with practical, everyday steps to slow down the aging process.
oFamily History.
If someone in your family has had a stroke, then you are at a higher risk for a stroke.
Part of this could be genetics and part of your family history could be lifestyle.
You have no control over the genetics but you certainly have control over your lifestyle.
You have the power to change the eating, drinking, smoking, and lifestyle choices that contributed to your family member's stroke.
The action steps we will talk about in this article will help you break the family history cycle.
As you can see, there are 5 uncontrollable risk factors of which 2 offer you some ability to take positive actions to lessen their impact.
The good news is that there are 8 controllable risk factors that you have a high degree of control over to help substantially reduce your risk for a stroke.
They are: oControl High Blood Pressure.
oControl Heart Disease especially Artial Fibrillation.
oStop Smoking.
oControl Alcohol Consumption.
oControl Your Cholesterol.
oControl Your Diabetes.
oControl Your Weight Through Diet, Exercise, and Nutrition.
oCheck for Other Circulatory Problems.
11 Steps That May Reduce Your Stroke Risk! These 11 steps will help you take a proactive approach towards reducing you risk for stroke.
Some of these steps are more fully developed in some of my other articles.
Step 1 - Go See A Qualified Physician.
If you do not know what your blood pressure reading is, what your cholesterol level is, or where your blood sugar level is at, then you must get these benchmarks measured as soon as possible.
These are the big three.
And while you are there have your physician check your heart and circulatory system especially the carotid arteries.
Step 2 - Make Sure Your Blood Pressure is under 120/80.
Anything over 120/80 is of concern and anything over 140/90 is a red flag to take action.
High blood pressure increases stroke risk 4-6 times and is the No.
1 risk factor for a stroke.
Step 3 - Make Sure Your Cholesterol Level is under 200.
Anything over 200 is of concern and anything over 240 is a red flag to take action.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 4 - Make Sure You Are Not Diabetic.
Diabetes is not something to play around with.
Not only does it increase your risk for stroke but it also affects so many other organ systems in your body.
There are many positive steps you can take to manage your blood sugar.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 5 - Control Your Weight.
If you are overweight by 30 pounds or more, then you need to make some positive changes in your eating patterns.
We are not talking about going on a diet.
Diets don't work.
Most people have dieted their way to their current overweight condition.
Please read my article "4 Keys to Changing Your Diet Into Successful Long Term Weight Loss!" which will teach you how to incorporate some simple techniques that can make a major impact on your weight and overall health.
Step 6 from this article will have a positive impact in this area.
Step 6 - Increase Your Fiber Intake!At best the typical American is only getting 50% of the needed fiber in their diet.
This step is so important that we have prepared a separate article entitled, "4 Benefits and 3 Steps to Proper Fiber Intake!" Proper fiber intake may reduce 3 of the risks for stroke:cholesterol, diabetes, and overweight/obesity.
Step 7 - Increase Your Water Intake.
Proper water intake is fundamental to good health.
We talk about this in greater detail in our article "Is Water Really The Number One Ingredient for Slowing Down the Aging Process?"Bottom line you need an 8 ounce glass of water for every 15 pounds of body weight.
Coke, coffee, and other doctored beverages don't count.
Only pure water! Step 8 - Stop Smoking!You know this is a nasty habit.
Not only does smoking affect your lungs but it affects your heart, pulmonary arteries, liver and several other systems.
Once you stop smoking, your stroke risk from this activity will drop significantly within two years.
If you're a woman over 30 who smokes and takes high-estrogen birth-control pills your risk for a stroke is 22 times more likely than the average non-smoker!Take the steps today to stop this nasty habit.
Step 9 - Learn STR.
Smile, Talk, Raise could save your life and the life of a loved one!Recognizing the symptoms of a stroke and knowing what to do is incredibly valuable since you have a 3 hour window to significantly reduce the effects of a stroke.
Please, go to our Synergy Encode Product website and click on "STR Poster" to print off a special poster that completely explains STR.
Share it with family, friends, and neighbors.
Ask your barber, hair stylist, and local merchant to display it in a prominent place for as many as possible to see.
Help us to educate your community so that your quick response could be the difference between life or death, permanent disability or significant recovery.
Step 10 - Consider L-Arginine Supplementation through Two Products:ENCODE or ProArgi9.
Genetic research has uncovered a significant genetic variance that directly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in many people of African descent.
The problem lies in the body's too rapid break down of an essential amino acid, L-Arginine, which can lead to weakened or damaged blood vessels.
This can significantly increase the risk for heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes.
Researchers at Duke University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute recently discovered one of the keys to the cause of pain in sickle cell disease.
Normal red blood cells release a signaling molecule called nitric oxide that tells the arterial walls to expand.
When sickle cells change from oval to sickle, the ability to release this signaling molecule is lost.
The Duke University researchers noted that the degree of nitric oxide deficiency directly correlated with symptom severity for those with sickle cell anemia.
When nitric oxide was administered their symptoms were relieved.
Research from the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine showed that the primary pathway for creating nitric oxide in the body came from the essential amino acid L-Arginine.
Due to a genetic variance, African Americans produce too much of an enzyme called arginase.
In the bloodstream, arginase destroys L-Arginine so that it is no longer available for the production of nitric oxide.
ENCODE was formulated by Dr.
Ann de Wees Allen, one of the most renowned L-Arginine researchers in the world.
With the help of Dr.
Clair Francomano and Dr.
Randall Maxey, Dr.
Allen was able to genetically engineer a low-glycemic delivery system for L-Arginine specifically designed to address this issue in the African American community.
The patent for ENCODE is pending but it is derived from Dr.
Allen's other low-glycemic, L-Arginine product called ProArgi9.
With the patent for ProArgi9, Dr.
Allen was granted 15 legal claims.
Of these 15 legal claims, 4 have a direct bearing on the cardiovascular system.
They are: oLegal claim 5 - Aids in decreasing body fat oLegal claim 7 - Helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels oLegal claim 12 - Is an adaptogen oLegal claim 14 - Helps produce Nitric Oxide These 4 items may be beneficial in reducing the risk for stroke since "decreasing body fat" helps in weight management, "helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels" aids in controlling blood sugar, "is an adaptogen" helps in blood pressure regulation, and "helps produce Nitric Oxide" which has been shown to be a critical factor for proper cardiovascular function.
Step 11 - Control Your Alcohol Consumption.
For most, moderate drinking doesn't greatly affect their risk of stroke.
"Moderate" drinking means limiting your alcohol intake to no more than one drink per day.
By definition, a "moderate" drink is 1.
5 oz.
of hard liquor, 4 oz.
of wine, or 12 oz.
of beer.
Drinking more than 2 drinks per day may increase your stroke risk by 50%.
We hope these 11 Steps will be a direct benefit to you in reducing your risk for stroke.
We've given you some very specific steps that you can take today to start you on the path towards reducing your risk for stroke while improving your overall health and wellness.
Please search our other articles at our Aging No More website as they will give you greater details on how to make other positive changes in your life.
Together we can empower our community to better health so that we can positively impact our world.
