Regardless of your age or family history, a stroke does not have to be inevitable.

You cannot reverse the years or change your family history, but there are many other stroke factors that you can control — provided you are aware of them. This year, 425,000 women will have a stroke — 55,000 more strokes than men will have. Age makes us more susceptible, as does having a mother, father or close relative who has had a stroke.

“Knowledge is power,” says Dr. Natalia Rost, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Acute Stroke Service at Massachusetts Hospital. “If you know that a particular risk factor is sabotaging your health and predisposing you to a higher risk of stroke, you can take steps to alleviate the effects of that risk.”

According to the Harvard Women’s Health Watch:

Lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a huge factor, doubling or even quadrupling your stroke risk if it is not controlled.

“High blood pressure is the biggest contributor to the risk of stroke in both men and women,” Dr. Rost says. “Monitoring blood pressure and, if it is elevated, treating it, is probably the biggest difference women can make to their vascular health.”

Your goal is to maintain a blood pressure of less than 120 (top number) over less than 80 (bottom number). You can achieve this by reducing the salt you take in your diet to no more than 1,500 milligrams a day (about a half a teaspoon).

Avoid high cholesterol foods, such as burgers, cheese, ice cream, and eat four to five cups of fruits and vegetables every day, fish two to three times a week, and several daily servings of whole grain and low-fat dairy.

Quit smoking, if you smoke, and if needed, take blood pressure medicines.

Lose weight if you need to. Obesity, as well as the complications linked to it (including high blood pressure and diabetes), raises your odds for having a stroke. If you are overweight, losing as little as 10 pounds can have a real impact on your stroke list.

How do you achieve it? Limit or avoid saturated and trans fats, and try to eat no more than 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day (depending on your activity level and your current body mass index).

Increase the amount of exercise you do with such activities as walking, golfing, or playing tennis, and by making activity part of every single day.

Exercise more because exercise contributes to losing weight and lowering blood pressure, but it also stands on its own as an independent stroke reducer. One 2012 study found that women who walked three hours a week were less likely to have a stroke than women who didn’t walk

Your goal is to exercise at a moderate intensity at least five days a week. You can do this by taking a walk around your neighborhood every morning after breakfast, or start a fitness club with friends.

When you exercise, reach the level at which you are breathing hard, but can still talk. Take the stairs instead of an elevator when you can. If you don’t have 30 consecutive minutes to exercise, break it up into 10 to 15 minute sessions a few times a day.

What you have heard is true: Drinking can make you less likely to have a stroke, up to a point.

“Studies show that if you have one drink per day, your risk may be lower,” according to Rost. “Once you start drinking more than two drinks a day, your risk goes up very sharply.”

Your goal should be to drink alcohol in moderation.

How do you achieve it? Have one glass of alcohol a day. Make red wine your choice because it contains resveratrol, which is thought to protect the heart and brain.

Watch your portion sizes. A standard-sized drink is a 5-ounce glass of wine, 12-ounce beer, or 1.5-ounce glass of hard liquor.

You can also take a baby aspirin. The landmark Women’s Health Initiative study found that women over age 65 who take a daily baby aspirin lower their blood clots from forming.

First talk to your doctor to make sure aspirin is safe and appropriate for you to take. If you have a bleeding disorder, you may need to reduce your dose to every other day or avoid this regimen altogether.

Treat atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a form of irregular heartbeat that causes clots to form in the heart. Those clots can then travel to the brain, producing a stroke. “Atrial fibrillation carries almost a five-fold risk of stroke and should be taken seriously,” Rosh said.

If you have symptoms such as heart palpitations or shortness of breath, see your doctor for an exam.

You may need to take blood thinners such as high dose aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin) to reduce your stroke risk from atrial filtration. Your doctor can guide you through this treatment.

Having high blood pressure over time damages blood vessels, making clots more likely to form inside them. Your goal is to keep your blood sugar under control.

Monitor your blood sugar as directed by your doctor and use diet, exercise and medicines to keep your blood sugar within the recommended range.

If you smoke, quit. Smoking accelerates clot formation in a couple different ways. It thickens your blood, and it increases the amount of plaque buildup in the arteries.

“Along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, smoking cessation is one of the most powerful life-style changes that will help you reduce your stroke risk significantly,” Rost said.

You can identify the symptoms of a stroke by using the acronym F-A-S-T:

FACE: Does one side of your face droop when you smile?

ARMS: When you lift both arms does one arm drift back down.?

SPEECH: Is your speech slurred or does it sound odd?

TIME: Call 911 immediately if you see of these signs in yourself or someone else.

Getting medical treatment within three hours of the first symptoms of stroke can make difference between recovery and lifelong disability.

Other signs of a stroke include weakness on one side of the body, numbness of the face, unusual and severe headache, vision loss, numbness and tingling and unsteady walk.

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Margaret Brackett

Contributing Columnist

Margaret Brackett is from Newberry. Her columns appear weekly in The Newberry Observer.