Tag Archives: stroke

Are You at Risk for a Stroke?

If you are pregnant, you might want to think twice before reaching for a diet soda to quench your thirst. According to a new study, there’s been a huge jump in the number of women suffering strokes during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth.  Researchers claim there’s been a 54% increase in the number of pregnancy-related stroke hospitalizations documented in the United States in the last decade. Health experts say they can’t pinpoint the exact reason behind the alarming rise in pregnant stroke victims, but they have a few ideas, including the fact that more women these days are overweight … Continue reading →

Global Obesity Bigger Concern than Hunger

I often blog about hunger in my Green blog because not only are people all over the world going without food, there is hunger in America as well.  But, I also realize now that sometimes the lack of food also doesn’t mean out-and-out hunger but a lack of healthy food and some people who are from food-insecure homes are actually overweight. That may have something to do with a recent study conducted by almost 500 researchers for the Global Burden of Disease that said that globally, obesity is a bigger health concern than hunger. One of the co-authors of the … Continue reading →

Tips for Reducing Your Stroke Risk

A stroke can strike at any age — it isn’t just a problem for senior citizens. Women between the ages of forty-five and fifty-four are at especially high risk of a stroke. What can you do to protect yourself? Here are some tips from the American Stroke Association. Manage blood pressure. High blood pressure encourages plaque build-up… plaque can form clots that cause stroke. Get your blood pressure levels checked at least every other year. Manage cholesterol. High cholesterol also encourages plaque build-up… plaque can form clots. Get your cholesterol levels checked at least every five years. Quit smoking! Lighting … Continue reading →

Middle-Aged Women and Stroke

According to the American Stroke Association, more than one hundred thousand women in the United States under the age of sixty-five have a stroke each year. Compare that to the approximately 83,000 American women who suffer a heart attack! Most strokes occur when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. There is another type of stroke that is comparably rare — a blood vessel in the brain bursting. If you’re going to worry about stroke (and you should), focus your worry on those clots. More statistics from the American Stroke Association: Stroke risk is highest in women between the … Continue reading →

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked with Health Problems

An Austrian study took a look at the health problems that can come with low levels of vitamin D. Researchers followed more than 3,200 men and women from southwest Germany for eight years. Most of the participants had some form of heart disease, and the average participant age was sixty-two. During the study, the participants were tested weekly for vitamin D levels. Over the eight years of the study, 737 participants died — 463 deaths from heart-related problems and the rest from other causes. One of the vitamin tests showed that patients with the lowest levels of vitamin D were … Continue reading →

Murphy on My Mom’s Mind

Murphy’s been on my mom’s mind a bunch for some reason. It started right before her stroke on Tuesday morning when she kept saying she followed him, he led her to the wrong room, and she was never following him again. (She’d never left her room, and Murph had been with me until I went in to see my mom that morning.) Or when she asked him why he took her down that gravel path. Or how she didn’t know what was wrong with her (like when the paramedics arrived or later when the ER staff was assessing her), but … Continue reading →

Was Tabby’s Behavior a Harbinger of the Stroke?

My mom had her stroke on Tuesday, but reflecting on it now I’m wondering if Tabby knew something was up on Monday. Ever since my mom moved here, Tabby’s been her girl. She’s on her lap whenever possible, guards her room at night, watches the sun rise with her in the mornings, and in general keeps tabs on her wherever she goes. Basically, they’ve become best buddies. But on Monday, Tabby was even more of a shadow than usual. Right from the time my mom woke up she kept talking about the cat. “Come see what this cat is doing,” … Continue reading →

Migraines during Pregnancy can Increase Stroke Risk

A study from Duke University Medical Center looked at the connection between migraines during pregnancy and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Study authors started with the assumption that women who have migraines tend to also have vascular disease. And if you are at risk for one (migraines) or the other (cardiovascular disease), then you should be working to modify, control, or reduce your risk factors while pregnant. The study looked at pregnancy discharge data for nearly seventeen million American women over a four year period (2000-2003). Out of those seventeen million women, nearly thirty-four thousand women had … Continue reading →

The Top Five Health Threats For Men

In honor of Men’s Health Week, it’s time to take a look at the top health threats to the men in our lives. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a list of the ten leading killers of American men in 2003 (the most recent data available to the public). The top five were responsible for more than sixty percent of all male deaths that year. Heart disease. The number one killer, responsible for approximately twenty-eight percent of all male deaths in 2003. Choosing a healthy lifestyle — including regular exercise and a balanced diet — is a … Continue reading →

Ten Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Heart Disease

In the United States, more women die from cardiovascular disease than ANY other cause. That includes cancer! Heart disease and stroke are two serious types of heart disease and are the first and third leading causes of death for women in America. Too many women don’t take the risk of heart disease seriously. Do you know your risk factors? Do you know what things increase your chance of a heart attack or stroke? Do you know how likely you are to develop some kind of heart disease? Talk to your doctor or health care provider about your risk level when … Continue reading →