Preventing a stroke might prevent a death

We all need to encourage better treatment for better outcomes for stroke patients.

BUT, just as important are ways to prevent strokes. For every stroke we prevent, we prevent a possible death or disability. A recent study combined some key methods to reduce stroke risk and, not surprisingly, that healthy lifestyle choices may cut women's stroke risk:

After being followed an average of 10 years, women who ate a healthy diet, drank alcohol moderately, never smoked, remained physically active and had a healthy body weight were 54 percent less likely to have a stroke than women with none of these factors, said study author Susanna Larsson, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

While other studies have looked at single risk factors, "only a few studies have examined the combined effects of a healthy lifestyle on stroke risk," Larsson said.

"We observed that the risk of stroke decreased steadily with an increasing number of healthy lifestyle habits," she said.

While the study found an association between healthy habits and stroke risk, a causal link was not proven.

Take this seriously - the life you save may be your own.