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Doctors recommend thinking about how to prevent a stroke even for those who have not had such cases in their family. The sooner we take care of our body, the more gratitude and efficiency it will respond to us. What is systematic prevention of the disease? We will look at the basic principles in this article.
- Factors to consider when preventing stroke
- What is recommended to eat
- Other factors that trigger stroke
- About medicinal and non-medicinal prevention
About risks
Is it possible to prevent a stroke? Of course yes. But for this you need to know what is the root cause of this disease. And how much it threatens you.
Unfortunately, the list of causes of stroke is long. But to prevent a stroke and protect yourself, you need to study it:
- Hypertension and constant changes in blood pressure should already alert you.
- Atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular system are the reason for a person to have an ischemic stroke.
- Life in a condition of constant nervous tension and prolonged stress.
- Older people have an increased risk of stroke.
- Presence of diseases of the endocrine system.
- Involvement in bad habits such as smoking, drugs and drinking alcoholic beverages.
- Taking certain medications for a long time.
- Men are more susceptible to this disease than women, especially after 45 years of age.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Overweight person.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies play a significant role in stroke prevention. You just need to remember that herbs alone cannot protect against the disease, you need to use all methods in combination.
Strengthening the nervous and cardiovascular systems, as well as lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, are the main directions of traditional medicine for the prevention of pathology.
- Herbal mixture to strengthen the heart muscle. Mix motherwort, oregano, and meadowsweet herbs in equal parts (40 grams each), add 0.5 liters of hot water, leave for several hours. Take 1 dessert spoon before meals three times a day.
- Barberry tincture. Pour three large spoons of barberry roots with diluted alcohol or vodka - 0.5 liters. Leave for 3 days, drink a teaspoon twice a day.
- Lemon-pine infusion for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Prepare a pine infusion: pour a tablespoon of pine needles with boiling water in a volume of 300 ml, leave for half an hour. Grate half of the peeled lemon, add to the pine infusion, and leave. Take 2 tablespoons 3 times a day.
- Sea buckthorn oil. To reduce cholesterol levels, you need to take the oil in courses of 1 tablespoon per day for a week, repeat every month.
- Sophora japonica to strengthen blood vessels. Pour the dry raw material with medical alcohol (1 tablespoon of herb per 5 tablespoons of alcohol). Store the tincture in a dark place in a glass container and leave for 3 days. Take 20 drops three times a day after meals.
- Lemon-honey paste for cleansing blood vessels and preventing atherosclerosis. Grind the washed orange and lemon together with the peel in a meat grinder. Add a large spoonful of honey to the resulting mass and mix. Store the paste in the refrigerator, take 1 dessert spoon after meals.
- Strengthening blood vessels with common rapeseed. Pour boiling water over the herb at a rate of 1:20, leave for 30 minutes. Strain, take a third of a glass 4 times a day.
- Phyto-pillow for stress relief. Fill a small pillowcase with dry herbs - valerian, motherwort, lemon balm, juniper, mint. Place at the head of the bed. The aroma of herbs will calm the nervous system.
Traditional methods of prevention in the photo
Sophora tincture strengthens blood vessels
Crescent in the form of an infusion is used to strengthen blood vessels
Barberry root strengthens the cardiovascular system
Sea buckthorn is used to prevent atherosclerosis
Lemon-pine infusion is recommended to be taken if there is a threat of developing atherosclerosis
A paste of lemon, orange and honey strengthens and cleanses blood vessels.
In addition to herbs, alternative methods of preventing stroke are acupuncture and hirudotherapy. Acupuncture should only be used as prescribed by a physician and should be performed by an experienced practitioner. Hirudotherapy is used to reduce the risk of blood clots.
What is prevention?
The list of risk factors is long. Prevention of strokes can be primary and secondary. Primary involves taking measures to prevent the development of the disease. In secondary prevention, the causes of the disease are eliminated.
An example of these preventive measures would be preventive visits to doctors. It is there that you can recognize emerging pathology in time and protect yourself with the help of medications. Prevention of cerebral stroke with folk remedies, drug prevention, maintaining a correct lifestyle - all this is carried out by both primary and secondary prevention.
Preventive examinations in the clinic
To save yourself from a stroke, you must not miss regular preventive examinations with doctors. There you will undergo the following examinations:
- Diagnosis of this disease includes a head examination using CRT or MRI, which will help determine the presence of an aneurysm or vascular malformation in the body. These diseases do not become apparent until hemorrhage occurs.
- They will do an analysis to determine lipid metabolism. Cholesterol affects the development of cerebral atherosclerosis. You can find out about the development of atherosclerosis in yourself by making a lipid spectrum. With its help, total cholesterol is divided. Increased levels of triglycerides and lipoproteins indicate the presence of atherosclerosis.
- The doctor will determine your blood pressure and the presence of blood clots. If there is a deviation from the norm, you will be prescribed an appropriate course of medications, which will be an excellent preventive measure for stroke.
- If you have stress in your life, your doctor will help you choose antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, and, if necessary, tranquilizers. This also protects against stroke.
- The clinic will help you monitor blood glucose levels and a person’s weight. All this is also a preventive measure against stroke.
- I would also like to say something about people who have bad habits. These people are at risk. They are more likely to have a stroke.
Nothing extra
Recently, a neighbor had a stroke right before my eyes. I called an ambulance. But she didn’t know how else she could have been helped. What needed to be done?
Alevtina Tomilina, Smolensk
— A person suspected of having a stroke should be placed on a horizontal surface if possible. If he is unconscious, then turn him on his side so that he does not choke on vomit. Prepare all available medical documents for doctors. It is very important not to give the patient anything to drink or eat until the ambulance arrives (this also applies to medications and tinctures). The fact is that the patient may have impaired swallowing, which, if even water gets into the throat, can cause aspiration and death.
How quickly should you act in case of a stroke? Infographics Read more
Main preventive areas
How to avoid a stroke? To do this, you need to know that the main causes of this disease are atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Therefore, the following are considered the main preventive measures against stroke:
- Identify and treat patients with hypertension.
- For patients with cardiac and vascular pathology, prescribe the necessary treatment for underlying diseases and medications to prevent cerebral stroke.
- Preventing recurrent stroke.
- Prescribing medication for the prevention of stroke in persons suffering from coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.
How to prevent another stroke
It is important to understand that a person who has experienced a brain stroke once and has fully recovered must now be more attentive to his health in order to avoid a relapse. The second time, the consequences of a stroke will be much more disastrous than after the first incident.
In order not to experience such a shock again, you must adhere to certain rules and follow the recommendations of doctors for the rest of your life.
Prevention of recurrent stroke involves:
- accurate compliance with doctor's orders and timely taking of prescribed medications;
- regular scheduled examinations;
- adherence to a prescribed diet;
- constant monitoring of blood pressure;
- glucose monitoring;
- abstinence from smoking and alcohol;
- moderate physical activity.
Patients who have suffered an attack should continue to monitor chronic diseases and prevent their exacerbation. This especially applies to those who have a history of arrhythmia, hypertension, renal failure, or diabetes. It is equally important to regularly check your cholesterol levels.
After all, it is the excess of this substance that contributes to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques that fill the vessels, thereby creating an obstacle to normal blood flow. To prevent this from happening, refrain from eating fatty foods, canned foods, pastries with cream, and fast food.
Primary prevention of the disease
Stroke can be ischemic or hemorrhagic. When ischemic, an arterial vessel becomes blocked, resulting in the death of brain cells.
In hemorrhagic, a rupture of an arterial or venous vessel occurs, followed by hemorrhage into the brain.
Primary prevention of this disease refers to a series of measures whose main goal is to prevent it. These include:
- proper nutrition;
- combating obesity and excess weight;
- rejection of bad habits;
- correct use of medications;
- treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine systems and other ailments.
How long to endure?
What symptoms should you definitely not tolerate, but should you urgently contact a neurologist?
Ilya Buryakov, Moscow
— You should not endure any long-lasting pain syndromes: headaches, back pain, lower back pain, neck pain. You definitely shouldn’t endure it if there is sudden weakness or numbness in your arm or leg. Or asymmetry of the face or speech disturbances, lethargy, unusual and inexplicable lethargy, and drowsiness suddenly appeared. This is a reason to urgently seek medical help.
Preventive measures using medications
Stroke is usually associated with diseases such as atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. How to prevent a stroke in this case? To do this, be sure to use medications on time:
- the use of rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin and other drugs of the statin group makes it possible to block the enzyme whose main purpose is to synthesize cholesterol;
- use of medications that lower blood pressure. They must be used constantly. It is important to know that you cannot change the dose yourself or forget to take your medications. This can provoke a hypertensive crisis or stroke;
- If there is inflammation or any infection in the body and a somatic disease, treatment is mandatory. These diseases include chlamydia, diabetes mellitus, collagenosis;
- prevention of stroke with folk remedies that help normalize lipid metabolism and reduce blood pressure.
Preventive measures for the disease for women
How can women protect themselves from stroke? What is the difference in the development of this disease in men and women?
Prevention of stroke in women is highlighted separately, since it is of a special nature. This is due to the fact that long-term use of oral contraceptives can provoke this disease. Therefore, recently, stroke in women can occur from the age of 18 to 40. In addition, pregnancy in some is accompanied by high blood pressure. Migraines and smoking can cause prolonged vasospasm. Women are more likely to develop thrombosis.
Unlike stroke in men, in women this disease is more common after the age of 60. Men over 40 years of age are already at risk of getting sick. In addition, they do not experience the disease as severely as women. Women are less likely to fully recover from the disease than men. According to statistics, the death rate after a stroke is lower in men than in women.
For stroke prevention, it is necessary to:
- give up alcohol and cigarettes;
- control blood pressure and use medications to normalize it;
- proper nutrition, active lifestyle;
- In case of hormonal disorders, it is necessary to undergo treatment.
