About 75% of people who have a stroke for the first time also have high blood pressure.
Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is one of the three key risk factors for heart disease. The other two are high cholesterol (LDL) levels and smoking. Almost half of Americans (49%) have a least one of the these three risk factors. For example, 67 million Americans have high blood pressure. One-third have high cholesterol levels, and about 18% of Americans still smoke. To learn how you can reduce your risk for heart disease by making a few simple lifestyle changes, see Living It Out on page 4.
Think You’re Having a Stroke?
Call 9-1-1 Immediately! F.A.S.T. is an easy way to remember the sudden signs of stroke. When you can spot the signs, you’ll know that you need to call 9-1-1 for help right away.
F.A.S.T. is:
F Face Drooping—Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
A Arm Weakness—Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S 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.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?
T 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 the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.