Health Alert 256
Dear Subscriber:
Are you on your way to having a stroke?
This may be an unwelcome question. Something you’d rather not think about. But it’s an important question to answer. Because stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability. Yet experts estimate that as many as 80 percent of all strokes can be prevented.
Today we’re going to discuss what a stroke is, the warning signs, and how to prevent it. So you’ll always be able to answer my question with a resounding “NO!”
A stroke is like a heart attack in the brain. Just as a part of the heart dies when deprived of oxygen during a heart attack, a part of the brain dies when deprived of oxygen during a stroke.
A thrombotic stroke occurs when an artery in the brain is blocked by a clot or atherosclerosis. An embolic stroke occurs when a small clot (known as an embolus) forms elsewhere in the body and moves to the brain, where it lodges in an artery and blocks the flow of blood. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when an artery ruptures, usually due to high blood pressure. While hemorrhagic strokes are less common – only about 20 percent of all strokes – they are much more lethal, causing about 50 percent of all stroke-related deaths.
In the aftermath of a stroke, the person loses the bodily function associated with the part of the brain the stroke destroyed. Symptoms of a stroke include slurred speech or loss of speech; sudden severe headache; double vision or blindness; sudden weakness or loss of sensation in the limbs; or loss of consciousness. The symptoms can occur over a period of a few minutes or hours, and they can occur on one side of the body or both.1
If you notice one or more of these signs, don’t wait. Stroke is a medical emergency. Call 9-1-1 or your emergency medical services. Get to a hospital right away!
- 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 cause2
It’s important to know what to do in case of stroke, but even more important is knowing how to prevent it in the first place. Experts recognize high homocysteine levels as a key predictor for both cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Homocysteine is a toxic amino acid that irritates the lining of the blood vessels, causing inflammation. When you have too much homocysteine in your blood, your blood vessels cannot dilate properly, which can cause problems in times of stress. Inadequate blood flow to the heart can cause heart attacks; inadequate blood flow to the brain can cause strokes.
Keep your homocysteine levels low, and you’ll virtually eliminate the danger of having a stroke. So how do you do that? Fortunately, you don’t need to ask for homocysteine-lowering drugs. Because you don’t need them. B vitamins help the body breakdown homocysteine. All patients at the Center for Health and Wellness lowered their elevated homocysteine levels with nothing more than a vitamin supplement.3
I recommend the following supplements to lower homocysteine:
25 milligrams of vitamin B2
- 25 milligrams of vitamin B6
- 500 micrograms of vitamin B12
- 800 micrograms of folate
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears MD
Sources:
1. Sears A. Dr; The Doctor’s Heart Cure; Sears, A. Dr.; The Doctor’s Heart Cure, Dragon Door Publications: Minnesota, 2004.
2. American Heart Association
3. Sears A. Dr; The Doctor’s Heart Cure; Sears, A. Dr.; The Doctor’s Heart Cure, Dragon Door Publications: Minnesota, 2004.