{"id":947750,"date":"2026-07-20T16:20:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/947750\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:20:26","slug":"why-strokes-are-more-common-in-the-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/947750\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Strokes Are More Common In The Morning"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the United States, strokes are the fourth leading cause of death<\/a> and also a top cause of disability. It\u2019s estimated that more than 795,000 people in the U.S. <\/a>have a stroke each year.<\/p>\n

Strokes<\/a> occur when a clot or blockage forms in the body and the brain can\u2019t get the blood that it needs, said Dr. Fan Caprio<\/a>, a vascular neurologist at Northwestern Medicine in Illinois. And data shows they can happen more frequently in the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really can occur at any time of the day, so I want to put that out there first. But when epidemiologists have looked at this topic … they do show that there\u2019s a spike in the percentage of all stroke patients presenting in the morning time,\u201d Caprio said. \u201cSo, the different studies vary in terms of exactly which hours you look at, but sometime between 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. is when patients are coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a few theories on why strokes are more common in the morning hours.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Dileep Raghvendra Yavagal<\/a>, a professor of clinical neurology and neurosurgery at UMiami Miller School of Medicine and director of interventional neurology at Jackson Memorial Hospital, said \u201cthere is some biology that goes along with why strokes may be more common [in the morning].\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Gregory Albers<\/a>, a professor of neurosurgery and the director of the Stanford Stroke Center in California, the blood is \u201cstickier\u201d in the morning hours, which makes it more likely to clot. \u201cAnd our intrinsic mechanisms that dissolve clots in the body are less effective in the early morning hours,\u201d Albers explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other thing that happens is that there\u2019s a rise in blood pressure,\u201d he continued. \u201cWhen you\u2019re asleep, in the middle of the night, your blood pressure drops, and then as you are waking up, there\u2019s a rise in blood pressure. Those are the main mechanisms that people think account for the early morning increase in stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Strokes<\/p>\n

SDI Productions via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Strokes tend to happen more in the morning than other parts of the day \u2014 but they can happen at any time, not just the morning. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to know the signs of stroke, which include changes in balance, vision loss and facial drooping.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since stroke is so common among adults, it\u2019s important to know the signs of it, but it can be \u201ctricky to notice,\u201d according to Caprio.<\/p>\n

\u201cA blockage in the brain doesn\u2019t always bother somebody. Instead, we want people to look out for something that goes missing, because when your brain doesn\u2019t get blood flow, it stops functioning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

People should look out for signs of lost neurologic function, which could include vision, speech, movement, sensation and balance, Caprio noted, \u201cespecially if it\u2019s on one side of the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could be a sign that a part of your brain is not getting the blood that it needs,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a helpful acronym, BE FAST<\/a>, which helps folks remember the signs of a stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cB is for balance [loss of balance], E is for eyes [changes in vision such as blurred or loss of vision], F is for face, facial droop, A is for arm weakness, S is for speech, and then T is for time,\u201d Caprio said. \u201cSo, as soon as you notice any of these issues, activate your emergency medical services, call 911 right away and get attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain symptoms of stroke such as numbness or weakness are sometimes confused with nerve issues, Albers said \u2014 but there\u2019s an important difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other important aspect about stroke symptoms is they come on instantly. So, if your arm has been getting weaker for days … that\u2019s not a stroke. It\u2019s your arm is fine, and then bam, all of a sudden it gets weak,\u201d Albers explained.<\/p>\n

A healthy diet, exercise regimen and more lifestyle changes can help lower your risk of stroke.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Yavagal, \u201cin 2026, stroke is highly preventable.\u201d There\u2019s an 80% chance of preventing a stroke if you follow certain lifestyle interventions.<\/p>\n

The American Heart Association recommends people follow rules known as Life\u2019s Essential 8<\/a> to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Eating a nutritious diet that\u2019s high in fruits, veggies, lean proteins, seeds and nuts<\/li>\n
  2. Getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (such as walking, gardening) or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (such as running, swimming) each week<\/li>\n
  3. Not using tobacco products<\/li>\n
  4. Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night<\/li>\n
  5. Maintaining a healthy weight<\/li>\n
  6. Keeping cholesterol levels in a healthy range<\/li>\n
  7. Managing blood sugar<\/li>\n
  8. Keeping blood pressure levels in a healthy range<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you do have a stroke, it\u2019s important to get medical attention as soon as possible. There are treatments available. <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Strokes are often very treatable when someone gets medical attention fast enough, Yavagal stressed. When strokes do occur, they are more often than not a type of stroke called \u201cischemic stroke,\u201d he said, which accounts for more than 80% of all strokes.<\/p>\n

    \u201cYou can actually reverse stroke if you call 911 and go to a comprehensive stroke center,\u201d he noted. \u201cWhy is that? Because we can give clot-busting medications up to four-and-a-half hours\u201d after the stroke occurs.<\/p>\n

    Even after that time frame, another treatment is available: a thrombectomy, in which the blood clot is removed to restore blood flow, he noted.<\/p>\n

    In the end, the sooner you get to the doctor, the better. \u201cIf you get in early … you have more treatment options,\u201d Albers added.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhether you develop symptoms in the morning or if you wake up with symptoms in the morning, we just want those symptoms to get noticed as quickly as possible and to get to those patients as quickly as possible so that we can see if they\u2019re eligible for these treatments,\u201d said Caprio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the United States, strokes are the fourth leading cause of death and also a top cause of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":947751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[14206,210,35155,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-947750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-doctors","tag-health","tag-stroke","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116953222278720931","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=947750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/947751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=947750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=947750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=947750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}