3. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) significantly increases stroke risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a common heart rhythm disorder that is anticipated to affect an estimated 12.1 million people in the US in the future. It causes the heart to beat irregularly, which allows blood to pool and form clots8.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If a clot travels to the brain, it can cause a stroke. People with AFib are 5 times more likely to experience a stroke. Those that do often have a more severe stroke than someone with other risk factors8.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many people with AFib don\u2019t know they have it and do not experience symptoms. That\u2019s why routine checkups and awareness are so important2,8.\u00a0<\/p>\n
4. Learning your stroke risk includes knowing your numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it comes to stroke prevention, awareness is powerful. Understanding your personal risk factors\u2014and acting early\u2014can make a meaningful difference over a lifetime.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Younos Abdulsattar, PharmD, Medical Team Leader for Cardiovascular and Metabolism, Novartis US\u00a0<\/p>\n
The best place to start is a conversation with your health care provider. Together, you can review your blood pressure, your cholesterol levels, any possible heart rhythm issues, and talk through your family history and other factors that could influence your risk of stroke2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Knowing your numbers can empower you and help you make informed choices about your health and take meaningful steps toward prevention2.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A conversation with your health care provider can help you understand your personal risk factors and take meaningful steps toward prevention.<\/p>\n
5. There are steps you can take today to lower your stroke risk over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is important to remember that prevention doesn\u2019t require perfection \u2013 small steps add up.\u00a0To help reduce your risk of stroke, you can take preventative steps by staying active, eating heart-healthy foods, not smoking, learning to manage stress, moderating alcohol intake, and maintaining a healthy weight2.<\/p>\n
For some people, medication or additional treatment may also play a role. A health care professional can help tailor an approach that is right for you2.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Small steps, like staying active, can add up to meaningful protection against stroke over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Preventing stroke isn\u2019t something anyone should navigate alone. At Novartis, we\u2019re focused on going further \u2013 advancing science, embracing innovation, and working with patients, health care professionals, and communities to make preventive cardiovascular care the norm. Learn more<\/a> about our mission to ensure no heart is lost too soon.<\/p>\n Because protecting health isn\u2019t just about living longer \u2013 it\u2019s about living better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you believe someone is exhibiting the signs and symptoms of a stroke, remember this acronym: FAST5. F…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[127],"tags":[17760,9554,2109,19701,212,13919,2100,8081,2105,2108,206,2104,2099,2103,2107,2106,2101,2102,31107,35854,35855],"class_list":["post-65806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novartis","tag-atrial-fibrillation","tag-cardiovascular-disease","tag-cell-therapy","tag-disease-awareness","tag-gene-therapy","tag-genetic-disease","tag-global-healthcare-companies","tag-heart-disease","tag-innovative-healthcare","tag-innovative-medicines","tag-novartis","tag-novartis-oncology-pipeline","tag-novartis-pharmaceuticals","tag-oncology-drug-development","tag-rare-disease-patients","tag-rare-disease-treatment","tag-sandoz","tag-sandoz-pharmaceuticals","tag-stroke","tag-stroke-awareness-month","tag-stroke-risk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116578065219533237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}