Call 9-1-1 immediately if these symptoms are present:
- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
Stroke risk factors you CAN control include:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol which can lead to coronary artery disease and heart attack damaging heart muscle and increasing your risk for stroke
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Heavy use of alcohol
- Illegal use of cocaine and other street drugs
Stroke risk factors you CAN'T control:
- Increasing age. Stroke affects people of all ages. But the older you are, the greater your stroke risk.
- Gender. In most age groups, more men than women have stroke, but more women die from stroke.
- Heredity and race. People whose close blood relations have had a stroke have a higher risk of strokes themselves. African Americans have a higher risk of death and disability from stroke than whites, because they have high blood pressure more often. Hispanic Americans are also at higher risk of stroke.
- Prior stroke. Someone who has had a stroke is at higher risk of having another one.
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