🛡️ Who Is at Higher Risk?
Risk Factor
Why It Matters
✅ High Blood Pressure
#1 cause — damages blood vessels over time
✅ Smoking
Narrows arteries and raises clot risk
✅ Diabetes
Increases vascular damage and inflammation
✅ High Cholesterol
Plaque builds up in arteries — can break off and block blood flow
✅ Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)
Irregular heartbeat → clots form in the heart
✅ Family History
Genetic predisposition to stroke or heart disease
✅ Age Over 55
Risk doubles every decade after 55
💡 But remember: Strokes can happen at any age — even in young adults and children.
✅ How to Reduce Your Risk
Habit
Benefit
✅ Control blood pressure
Keeps arteries healthy — aim for <120/80 mm Hg
✅ Quit smoking
Reduces risk significantly within 2 years
✅ Exercise regularly
At least 150 mins/week of moderate activity
✅ Eat a heart-healthy diet
Rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega-3s
✅ Manage diabetes & cholesterol
With medication and lifestyle
✅ Treat AFib properly
Anticoagulants can prevent clots
🩺 After a TIA, doctors may prescribe blood thinners, statins, or recommend surgery (like carotid endarterectomy).
❌ Debunking the Myths
Myth
Truth
❌ “If symptoms go away, it wasn’t serious”
Dangerous myth — TIA is a medical emergency
❌ “Only older people get strokes”
False — rising in younger adults due to obesity, vaping, poor diet
❌ “I’d know if I was having a stroke”
Not true — some people deny symptoms or sleep through them
❌ “There’s nothing you can do to stop a stroke”
False — treatment within 3–4.5 hours can dissolve clots and save brain tissue
🚨 When to Seek Emergency Care
Call 911 or your local emergency number if you or someone else experiences any of the FAST symptoms — even if they disappear.
💬 Say this to dispatchers:
“I think this might be a stroke.”
Do not:
Drive yourself to the hospital
Wait to see if it gets better
Take aspirin unless told by a doctor
🚑 Paramedics can start life-saving protocols before arrival.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to wait for disaster to pay attention.
But you do deserve to know the truth about your brain.
So next time you’re talking to a loved one…
watch closely.
Ask:
Did their smile look uneven?
Was their speech slurred?
Then act — fast, calmly, and without delay.
Because real health isn’t about hoping for the best.
It’s about responding in the moment that matters most.
And that kind of courage?
It saves lives.
