WHAT DOCTORS WISH YOU KNEW ABOUT
STROKES
THEY’RE COMMON—BUT ALSO PREVENTABLE, AND TREATABLE IF YOU ACT FAST.
Healthy Together
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hen the brain’s blood supply is interrupted by a blocked or broken blood vessel, stroke occurs. Blood cells, deprived of oxygen and nutrients, begin to die, and important body functions can be impaired. “Stroke is an extremely significant condition,” says Danielle Haskins, MD, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (SBMC). “About 800,000 strokes
occur in the U.S. every year. And stroke is actually the fourth-leading cause of death in New Jersey.” The thing Dr. Haskins most wishes people knew about stroke, however, is not just that it’s common and dangerous. It’s that most of the deaths and disabilities caused by stroke could be avoided. “I wish people understood that they’re really in the driver’s seat with regard to stroke prevention,” Dr. Haskins says. “Up to 80 percent of all strokes could be prevented if people would control the risk factors.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO Some risk factors aren’t controllable—for example, aging (the chances of having a
Summer 2020
7/29/20 3:04 PM
