7 Ways To Prevent A Stroke

Stroke is the 3rd highest killer in Malaysia. 11% of all deaths in Malaysia are associated with a stroke¹.  Here are a few ways you can protect yourself from a stroke:

1) Control your blood pressure²

• Target: < 130/80mmHg
• How to achieve this:

  i. Exercise

  ii. Diet: reduce salt intake & avoid high cholesterol foods

  iii. Seek medical treatment if BP is >140/90mmHg

2) Control your blood sugar^{2, 3}

• Target:(Targets may differ in certain groups such as elderly, concurrent diseases, etc.)

  i. HbA1c < 6.5%

  ii. Fasting blood sugar: 4.4 – 7.0 mmol/L

  iii. Blood sugar 90 minutes after food: 4.4 – 8.5 mmol/L

• How to achieve this:

  i. Monitor your blood sugar, i.e. A1c to monitor every 3-6 months

  ii. Get a home blood sugar monitoring device for daily or weekly monitoring

  iii. Adopt a healthy diet, exercise and take anti-diabetic medicines if prescribed

3) Control your cholesterol²

• Target: LDL level

  i. High risk: <2.6mmol/L

  ii. 1 or more risk factor: <3.4mmol/L

  iii. Low risk: <4.2mmol/L

• How to achieve this:

  i. Identify with your doctor your risk profile for stroke

  ii. Monitor your cholesterol blood levels every 3-6 months

  iii. Adopt a healthy diet, exercise and take anti-cholesterol medicines if prescribed

4) Exercise more^5, 6

• Target:

  i. Moderate intensity exercise 5 times a week,  

  ii. 30 minutes per exercise session

• How to achieve this:

  i. Make exercise as part of your daily or weekly routine

  ii. Find an exercise partner or group

  iii. Take the stairs instead of the elevator if you can

  iv. Exercise at a level which you are breathing hard but you can still speak

5) Weight control^{5, 7}

• Target: BMI: 18.5 – 25 kg/m2
• How to achieve this:

  i. Identify your BMI with an online calculator

  ii. Diet:  Try not to eat more than 1500 to 2000 calories a day in order to maintain body weight

  iii. Exercise