You may know someone who has had a stroke and seen the awful effects on their lives. A stroke can cause a wide range of debilitating outcomes which can significantly impact a persons independence, personality and confidence. People who have had a stroke can have difficulties communicating, eating and swallowing, moving and walking, doing daily activities such as caring for themselves, driving and thinking. People often require support to be able to get through the day and find returning to work and other meaningful activities very challenging. Usually the road to recovery from a stroke is very difficult and long, and it is not uncommon for people to have further strokes.
Some facts about stroke
- Stroke is the major cause of death and disability worldwide.
- In NZ it is the second biggest killer.
- About 9000 New Zealanders have a stroke every year.
- 25-30% of strokes affect people under 65yrs of age
- The number of people who have a stroke will rise by 40% over the next 10 years.
- The cost of strokes in New Zealand is about $1.1billion dollars and is estimated to increase to $1.7billion in 15years time.
- 80% of strokes can be prevented through modifications of risk factors, lifestyle and medications
Find out more about stroke:
https://www.stroke.org.nz/facts-and-faqs
What is a stroke
Stroke is a 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 (ischaemic stroke) or bursts (hemorrhagic stroke). When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood, and therefore the oxygen it needs, so brain cells die.
As a speech language therapist over the past 20 years working in neuro-rehabilitation, I have worked very closely with people who have had a stroke. I would often assess whether an individual is safe to eat and drink and support them to improve their swallowing skills. I would also help them to communicate they needs, wishes and thoughts to others. Often people cannot talk or understand language after a stroke. Or if they can talk they can not get the right words out or put them in a meaningful sentence. As you can imagine this is extremely challenging. People may need to use pictures, pointing or other means to get their message across. It is heartbreaking when you get to know these people, and see who they were prior to their stroke and what they achieved, and then to see them bed bound and unable to eat or talk. It is also incredibly rewarding to see them make progress, when they can eat their first bite, make a choice by choosing yes or know, and to say their partners name again.
What are the modifiable risk factors for having a stroke
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Remember the majority of strokes can be prevented through modification of risk factors. Non-modifiable risk factors are things you cannot change such as your age, gender and ethnicity. Modifiable risk factors are ones that you can change. So this means that having a stroke is not necessarily your destiny. Modifiable risk factors for stroke are elevated blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, poor diet and lack of physical exercise. These are the same risk factors for heart disease as both heart disease and stroke are types of a cardiovascular disease.
How can you tell if you are at risk of having a stroke
Visit your GP to discuss your risk for stroke. However there is also a new app that has been developed which is easy to use and incredibly insightful called the Stroke Riskometer.
It has been developed in collaboration with international leaders in stroke prevention, including researchers from AUT’s National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences in New Zealand. The Stroke RiskometerTM app is an award winning and easy-to-use tool for measuring your individual risk of a stroke. The app is able to calculate your risk through evaluating a series of risk factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, lifestyle and other health factors that directly influence your likelihood of a stroke within the next five and ten years. It will supply essential information on how you can reduce your chance of having a stroke and will monitor your risk as you start to modify your personal risk factors.
What can you do about reducing your risk?
You may learn that your diet is not as good as it could be, or you should lose weight. You may not be as physically active as you need to be, or you would like to give up smoking. You may wish to drink less alcohol, or reduce your stress levels. It may be that one of these needs to change, or several. You may identify other lifestyle behaviours that you need to change.
This is a fantastic first step, to identify your risk for stroke. Congratulate yourself at this point.
The second step is to make changes to one or more aspects of your lifestyle. Now this is where it gets difficult. Making changes to behaviours that you have done for years and years is extremely difficult. And often being told by someone else, even an app, that you need to make a change is not always enough of a motivator to actually change. People often know what they need to do to lose weight, get fitter, stop smoking, sleep better, reduce stress and drink less…but it almost seems impossible to put that knowledge into action. Or you begin to make changes but it just doesn’t last and you go back to your old habits.
But all is not lost. Thats where an experienced neuro-prevention health coach fits in.
I help people make lifestyle changes to improve their health and reduce their risk of brain disease.
I have specific skills and expertise in supporting people with the process of behaviour change and to ensure that this change lasts. This, along with my experience working with people who have had a stroke, means that I know that preventing or reducing your risk of stroke is very important. You do not want to have a stroke. You do not want to suffer the devastating and debilitating consequences that a stroke can bring. I can help you to make the changes so that you can live the most brain healthy lifestyle.
Heres what you should do right away after reading this – download the Stroke Riskometer app. Its free and so easy to use.
https://www.strokeriskometer.com
Next, take a note of what your risk factors are and highlight the ones that are modifiable, ones that you can change.
Then, set about making some very small changes. Try one small change each day. If you find this difficult, then please get in touch with me as I can help you.
You could either join me with a small group of others for group health coaching. This is weekly for 6 weeks to learn more about lifestyle, brain health and you will start to make changes to everyday behaviours. Or you could work with me for 12 weeks, just you and I, where we work through a ‘My Healthy Lifestyle’ individualised programme that ensures you are successful with making lifestyle changes. We will make sure we are working with what your doctor/specialist and other health professionals have recommended and I can liaise with them if you wish so we are connected as a team with your health needs as the priority.
When you work with me, and you make changes to your lifestyle, you will notice your health undoubtedly improves. You will find your risk for stroke actually starts to decrease and you will feel more confident that you can be in charge of your brain, your health and your life.