Stroke Prevention and Awareness

Heart disease runs strongly in my family, especially on my Dad's side (he died of heart disease when he was 57, I was 20), so it's always on my radar. I'm constantly looking for ways to lower my heart disease risk factors. I realize that family history is still working against me, but I want to do everything in my power to keep my ticker going strong. It was one of my motivations to lose the weight I did.

However a new topic, one I hadn't really thought of before, has come to my attention and that is Stroke risk. My good friend Criss became Stroke Coordinator at the hospital where she works, and I've learned so much from her. Thankfully the measures we take to reduce heart disease also reduce stroke risk. I wrote a two part article about it here:

http://buzz.prevention.com/community/category/trimom73

Stroke is a leading reason for death and disability in our country, and time is absolutely of the essense in stroke situations, so it's important to get the word out about signs and symptoms!