Stroke’s No Joke

A healthy diet can reduce your risk for a stroke.

RESOURCES

American Stroke Association
www.strokeassociation.com

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
www.nia.nih.gov

National Stroke Association
www.stroke.org

As a trucker, you’re inclined to a lifestyle that increases your risk of having a stroke. Lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking and high stress can contribute to high blood pressure, and therefore the chance of a stroke.

At least 600,000 people a year suffer a stroke, the third leading cause of death in the United States. Even if you survive, a stroke can threaten your livelihood: More than half of survivors are left mentally or physically impaired, although sometimes cell damage can be repaired and some lost skills regained.

A stroke happens when blood circulation to the brain fails, which can kill brain cells within a few minutes. Most strokes are caused by a blood clot or narrowing of a blood vessel (artery) leading to the brain. Other strokes are caused by bleeding from an artery.

YOUR RISK

A stroke is a single attack, but the conditions or risk factors that lead to a stroke develop over years. The chance of having a stroke more than doubles for each decade after age 55, and that chance increases if your family has a history of strokes. If you have had a stroke, your chance of having another dramatically increases.

African-Americans have a much higher risk of disability and death from a stroke, in part because there is a greater incidence of high blood pressure, a major stroke risk factor.

People with heart problems have more than twice the risk of stroke as those whose hearts work normally. High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke; diabetes, which is strongly correlated with high blood pressure, is also a risk factor. Smoking cigarettes also increases your risk for a stroke.

PREVENTION

Reducing your risk for a stroke entails a lot of the same practices that lead to a healthier life in general: