Stroke, can be avoided by watching for the signs. As I watched the television Febuary 5, 2008 the results of the California primary were being reported,and the battle for the democratic nomination became as obvious as the warning signs of stroke ( my left arm had gone numb and my speech was slurred and vision was blurred ).Instead of going to the hospital I went to bed, thinking that what ever the problem was would go away with a good night of sleep. This was to be the biggest mistake of my life. I was to be sent by ambulance to the hospital the next day. These were the signs and I ignored them because I hadn't educated myself as to their relevance. I should have, did you know? that according to the National Stroke Association, Stroke is the number three cause of death and the number one cause of adult disability, apprx. 780,000 strokes happen in a year and 500,000 are preventable if you get to the hospital in time and are properly diagnosed. There are two types of stroke,the most prevalent is the Ischemic stroke (or mini stroke if there is such a thing) The Hemmographic stroke is when the brain has massive bleeding. This is by far the most deadly of the two types of stroke as of the 160,000 people that die from stroke about 15 percent of them are hemmographic , causing 30 percent of all stroke deaths. There is no reason not to have understood what was going on , with the richness of information our world has at its finger tips. I shouldn't be so down on myself as I spent a month in the hospital thinking I was battling vertigo (my doctors didn't get it). It wasn't until I went to the Cleveland clinic that I heard a assessment from the doctors , that would change my life "Sir, you have suffered at least two strokes" unfortunately there is nothing they can do for you, fortunately, I lived to find that out. If like me you have uncontrolled high blood pressure(260/160), and diabetes you are on your way to a stroke (blood pressure over 140/80 is considered high). There are simple treatments similar to heart attacks that can help , it is suggested that you consult a doctor because after you've had a stroke medicine is no longer a choice it's the only way to survive.The rest of the rules to identify and live after stroke are easy. Eat a heart healthy diet, since heart attack and stroke have borderline medicinal approaches the combination of medicines and diet will go along way to keeping you alive. Stop smoking,eat less salt and of course limit your alcohol consumption. Controlling your cholesterol and exercise are two of the hardest goals to achieve for parents who grab a bite at the local burger joint with the kids while taking them from soccer to baseball, as most burgers from the top fast food empires have high amounts of both cholesterol and unbelievable amounts of salt. Telling the kids to eat boiled chicken and green vegetables may not seem practical but the old saying goes something like this "the life you save may be you own"

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