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5 warning signs of ‘silent killer’ that takes a life every three minutes Credits: Social Media
By Bruno Cooke

5 warning signs of ‘silent killer’ that takes a life every three minutes

By Bruno Cooke

Known as the silent killer because it can strike without you even realizing it, strokes cause permanent damage to your brain and lead to thinking and memory problems.

Last year, stroke was the fourth biggest cause of death in the US, falling in line behind heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injury. But 80% of first-time strokes could be preventable, according to a recent health study. On World Stroke Day, here are some of the warning signs to look out for.

Woman suffering a stroke in the hallway of her home
Credit: bymuratdeniz

5 leading risk factors for stroke ranked by prevalence and impact

A national study into the various risk factors that indicate someones chance of suffering a stroke analyzed 30 years worth of data and produced some illuminating findings.

To fully understand the significance of each risk factor, you first need to get to grips with DALYs. DALY stands for disability-adjusted life year. One DALY represents the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health. 

If a disease means you die five years younger than you would have done if you didnt have it, it has caused 5 DALYs.

The five leading risk factors for stroke, according to the Lancet paper, are:

  1. High systolic blood pressure. Also called isolated systolic hypertension, or ISH, this is when the top number of a blood pressure reading is 130 or higher, while the bottom number is under 80. It affects more than a billion people worldwide and leads to about 80 million DALYs per year. That’s more than half of the DALYs associated with strokes in the US.
  2. High body mass index. Body mass index is an imperfect measure of physical health  some have suggested replacing it with BRI, which stands for body roundness index. Having a high BMI led to 35 million DALYs in 2019, in the US alone.
  3. High fasting plasma glucose. This is also called hyperglycemia. Its an indicator of a higher risk of diabetes. 29 million DALYs  thats nearly 30 million years of life lost due to hyperglycemia. 
  4. Particulate matter pollution. Even if the air looks clear and invisible, it contains bits of stuff. More or less, depending on where you are. Breathing in tiny particles can cause health problems, or, specifically, nearly 29 million DALYs per year.
  5. Smoking. Its almost surprising that smoking is so far down the list. This is likely because its limited to the portion of the population that smokes, while things like high blood pressure and having a high BMI are available to the whole population. Smoking led to 25 million years of lost life in 2019.

What you can do to lower your risk of stroke

The CDCs main webpage on stroke facts tells us that, in 2022, a sixth of cardiovascular disease deaths were due to stroke. 

Someone in the US suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies from one every 3 minutes. 

The death rate for stroke decreased between 2021 and 2022, but many of those who survive a stroke go on to experience long-term disability.

Based on the leading risk factors, the best things you can do to reduce your chance of suffering a stroke are: 

  • Stop smoking.
  • Spend more of your time in places that dont have high levels of particulate matter pollution  this is easier said than done for some people, but building trips to the countryside into your routine could have an enormous impact in the long term.
  • Eat a diet that keeps your weight within a healthy bracket, your blood sugar sensibly low, and your blood pressure at a healthy level.