Stroke rates are rising, with over half a million Americans having a first stroke every year. But up to 80% of strokes may be preventable, which is why it’s so important to understand and mitigate your risk factors.
That’s according to the American Stroke Association, which this week released its first new clinical guidelines for strokes in a decade.
The “2024 Guideline for the Primary Prevention of Stroke,” published in the journal Stroke and replacing the 2014 version, focuses on identifying and managing risk factors—particularly for women—and highlights healthy lifestyle behaviors that can lower stroke risk.
“The most effective way to reduce the occurrence of a stroke and stroke-related death is to prevent the first stroke—referred to as primary prevention,” said the chair of the guideline writing group, Cheryl D. Bushnell, M.D., in a news release. “Some populations have an elevated risk of stroke, whether it be due to genetics, lifestyle, biological factors and/or social determinants of health, and in some cases, people do not receive appropriate screening to identify their risk.”
What is a stroke?
A stroke is what happens when a blood vessel ruptures or is blocked by a blood clot, interrupting blood flow to the brain. The brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen to function properly, resulting in brain damage that, depending on the severity, can lead to trouble thinking, talking, walking, or other disability.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., resulting in nearly 160,000 deaths annually.
Stroke risk factors for women
For the first time, the stroke guidelines include specific recommendations and outline risk factors—which are largely uncontrollable but helpful to be aware of for prevention and monitoring reasons—for women. They include:
Stroke risk factors for everyone
The most common, most controllable lifestyle behaviors—dubbed Life’s Essential 8 cardiovascular health metrics by the Stroke Association—will, when left unchecked, become factors that are known stroke risks. They include:
To counteract these risks, the new guidelines recommend:
- Eating a Mediterranean diet—consisting largely of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and olive oil, and minimal amounts of dairy, eggs, fish, and poultry—even if you have no other risk factors
- Getting at least 150 minutes weekly of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes weekly of vigorous aerobic activity—or a combo of both—spread throughout the week
- Getting enough sleep
- Not smoking
- Monitoring cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels and keeping them within healthy ranges
What else can you do to prevent a stroke?
When it comes to stroke prevention, the guideline stresses the need for risk assessment—including with a risk assessment calculator that estimates 10-year and 30-year stroke and heart disease risk starting at age 30; knowing the results can help inform preventive treatment decisions.
It can help to be aware of new treatment options—such as Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs to reduce stroke risk in people with diabetes and a high risk of heart disease—and asking your doctor about what might be right for you.
Further, it’s important to know the warning signs of a stroke. The American Stroke Association uses the acronym FAST—for face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, and time to call 911, fast.
“Implementing the recommendations in this guideline would make it possible to significantly reduce the risk of people having a first stroke,” noted Bushnell. Plus, there’s a bonus: “Most strategies that we recommend for preventing stroke will also help reduce the risk of dementia, another serious health condition related to vascular issues in the brain.”
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