Volume 1, Number 5, May 2009

What is Stroke?
Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease that affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot of bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die.

Stroke Warning Signs
If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don't delay!

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical services (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you. Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It's very important to take immediate action. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke. tPA is the only FDA-approved medication for the treatment of stroke within three hours of stroke symptom onset.

A TIA or transient ischemic attack is a "warning stroke" or "mini-stroke" that produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. Recognizing and treating TIAs can reduce your risk of a major stroke. The usual TIA symptoms are the same as those of stroke, only temporary. The short duration of these symptoms and lack of permanent brain injury is the main difference between TIA and stroke.

Volume 1, Number 6, June 2009

What is Hypertention?
One in three of us are walking around with it and probably don’t even know it! High blood pressure can kill you when it’s left undiagnosed or untreated.

Blood pressure is the amount of force the heart exerts against the walls of arteries as it pumps blood throughout the body. Think about water gushing through a hose. If the hose is clean and flexible, the water flows through easily. But if the hose becomes clogged with gunk (as arteries can with cholesterol), or stiff from being left outside all winter (as arteries do with age), it becomes more difficult for the water to get through the hose. The slower it flows, the more the pressure builds.

In a hose, such increased pressure could knock loose a piece of the dirt and clog the hose. In your arteries, such high pressure could knock loose a blood clot or a piece of plaque, sending either to your brain, where it can lodge in a smaller vessel and cause a stroke. It could also slow or stop blood flow elsewhere in your body, starving vital organs – like your kidneys – of oxygen and other nutrients. Greater pressure means your heart has to work overtime to pump all that blood through miles of vessels increasing the risk that it will fail.

Two numbers make up blood pressure: the systolic (top number) and the diastolic (bottom number). The systolic stands for the pressure when your heart beats to push blood out; the diastolic measures the pressure in the arteries between hearbeats.

• Normal: Systolic 119/diastolic 79 or below
• Prehypertention: Systolic 120 to 139 and/or diastolic 80 to 89
• Stage 1 hypertention: 140 to 159 and/or 90 and 99
• Stage 2 hypertention: 160 or above and/or 100 or more

Lifestyle Changes to Prevent and Manage High Blood Pressure

Lose weight: Maintain a normal body weight

Change how you eat: Choose as many fruits and vegetables as possible plus whole grains, low-fat dairy and foods low in fat.

Cut back on salt: Limit sodium to no more than 2.4 grams a day (1 teaspoon/day)

Exercise: Add at least 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity most days of the week.

Limit alcohol: Stop at two drinks for men and one drink for women.