Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate our moms and show them how much we care. Moms are usually the ones who take care of the entire family, typically putting everyone else’s needs before their own. This Mother’s Day, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association are encouraging moms to put themselves first and take care of their health.
May is also American Stroke Month, and the good news is up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable with simple lifestyle changes, such as managing your blood pressure. High blood pressure is the most important controllable risk factor for stroke, but about three in four people who have a first-time stroke have blood pressure higher than 140/90 mm Hg.
According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, high blood pressure is usually preventable with simple steps, yet it kills more people worldwide than any other condition. Taking control starts with a simple action — getting your blood pressure checked.
“High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a symptomless ‘silent killer’ that quietly damages blood vessels and leads to serious health threats,” stated said Mandy Binning, MD, member of the South-Central NJ American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Regional Board of Directors and Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery at Drexel University College of Medicine. “The good news is making positive lifestyle changes can help enhance your quality of life and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and more.”
According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, getting high blood pressure under control could reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke by 30 percent in men and 38 percent in women.
For moms who don’t have a lot of time, it’s important to remember that checking your blood pressure takes just a few minutes at your doctor’s office, at a blood pressure machine located at many local pharmacies, or by using a home monitoring device. You can utilize the American Heart Association’s Check. Change. Control.® Tracker to self-monitor and track blood pressure readings at home to help you achieve and maintain a healthy heart. Sign up to today at ccctracker.com. By knowing your numbers and managing your risk for high blood pressure, you can celebrate many more Mother’s Days with your loved ones.
While there are many steps you can take to prevent stroke, it’s important to know what to do if you are a loved one are experiencing the signs of stroke. The American Stroke Association suggests using the acronym F.A.S.T. to remember the most common symptoms of stroke:
- Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
- Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
- Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.”
- Time to Call 9-1-1 – If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.
For more information about American Stroke Month and to learn how you can prevent, treat and beat stroke, visit www.strokeassociation.org/strokemonth.
