A new prevention campaign provides information on the risk factors for stroke.
- Stroke is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, the leading cause of acquired disability in adults and the second leading cause of dementia in seniors.
- On the occasion of World Stroke Day on October 29, the French Neuro-Vascular Society (SFNV) would like to review this year the main actions that help prevent this pathology.
- Preventing the occurrence of a stroke in a person without a history is mainly based on the screening and treatment of 8 risk factors.
In France, there are nearly 140,000 new cases of stroke each year, or one every 4 minutes. It is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, the leading cause of acquired disability in adults and the second leading cause of dementia among seniors.
8 risk factors for stroke
On the occasion of World Stroke Day on October 29, the French Neuro-Vascular Society (SFNV) would like to return this year to the main prevention actions. “Even if a lot of progress has been made in the management of strokes with effective treatments that reduce the after-effects, prevention must remain at the heart of the policy to fight this disease. Better understanding the means of preventing stroke is also the first weapon to better fight it”, explains the organization in a press release.
Preventing the occurrence of a stroke in a person without a history is mainly based on the screening and treatment of 8 risk factors. The first of these is high blood pressure: each 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure reduces the risk of stroke by 20%. Furthermore, in people suffering from cardiac arrhythmia with risk factors, oral anticoagulants reduce the risk of stroke by arterial occlusion by more than 60% (this can be detected by taking their pulse and measuring their heartbeat, Editor’s note ). These are followed by excess cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, tobacco consumption, alcohol intake, poor diet and lack of physical activity.
The risk of stroke is highest in a person who combines all of these factors, regardless of age and gender. On the other hand, eliminating these causes one by one can significantly reduce the danger.
What is stroke?
“It is estimated that 90% of strokes could be avoided at the individual level by controlling all these risk factors. This means that of the 140,000 new annual cases in France, we could undoubtedly avoid more than half with simple measures. within everyone’s reach! Even today, far too many patients, because they are not sufficiently informed about risk factors and means of prevention, truly put themselves in danger.” concludes Professor Sonia Alamowitch, President of the SFNV and head of the neurovascular emergency department at the Pitié-Salpétrière hospital.
A stroke is the consequence of impaired blood circulation to the brain. It occurs either when a blood vessel becomes blocked or a tear in a blood vessel causes bleeding in the brain.