Stroke can happen to anyone regardless of their age and gender. The problem with this condition is that it can strike all of a sudden, and without any warning too, that many are surprised when it hits. Many are asking how they will know if they are at risk of stroke. Well, there are several factors that can put you at a higher risk of getting a stroke compared to others. Here are a few that you should watch out for.

High blood pressure

One of the risk factors of stroke is having high blood pressure which is actually controllable. The problem with high blood pressure is that it can affect your arteries significantly with the rising and falling of your blood pressure, making them more prone to collapsing or getting clogged up. This is one of the reasons why doctors recommend that you maintain a healthy blood pressure at all times to help reduce your risk of stroke.

Read: How Drinking Cucumber Juice Can Lower Blood Pressure

Heart disease

There are different types of heart diseases that can affect us such as atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeat, defective heart valves, and others. These may be triggered by genes, or lifestyle even. Clogged arteries can also play a part in the onset of stroke because of the fatty deposits that are covering the arteries. The good news is that this can be avoided by following a healthy diet.

Excessive alcohol consumption

Although there are some studies that show a little alcohol, such as red wine, can play a part on your overall health, many are saying that even a small amount of alcohol consumption can put you at high risk of stroke. Limiting your intake of alcoholic beverages to a single glass for women, and two for men, is considerably better than emptying several bottles.

Smoking

There is an ongoing war on smoking as health experts have been putting up warnings that smoking can actually put you more at risk of stroke. The problem with smoking is that it raises your LDL cholesterol while lowering HDL cholesterol which is actually the good cholesterol. When LDL is way too high, it can cause damage in your blood vessel walls making your blood more likely to clot. Clotting can restrict the amount of blood flowing to your heart as well as your brain which can be quite dangerous. This is why people are encouraged to avoid smoking to help reduce their risk of stroke.

Related: Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

Stress

Stress can take a toll on your health, but did you know that one of its dangers is putting you at more risk of stroke? This may be due to the high blood pressure that you are feeling because you are too stressed at the moment. If you find yourself in stressful situations, attend some stress management classes to know how you can reduce your stress levels safely.

Read: 7 Strange But Effective Ways to Overcome Stress

These are just a few examples of risk factors that may put you in more danger of stroke which you should be aware of so you can take steps to prevent them from happening. (menlivehealthy.com)

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