Managing Your Health to Prevent Stroke Recurrence
If you’ve gone through the difficult recovery process after a stroke, minimizing the chance of stroke recurrence is one of your main priorities. This means effectively controlling as many risk factors as possible. West Palm Beach, FL, stroke patients benefit from concierge medicine to help manage their health and prevent stroke recurrence.
Meet with Your Concierge Doctor
Meeting with your concierge doctor is the best way to prevent another stroke. The two of you will go over manageable risk factors, giving special focus to factors that resulted in your prior stroke. Your concierge doctor will then collaborate with a variety of specialists to create a personalized and comprehensive stroke-prevention plan.
Medications
Your concierge doctor will prescribe medications to reduce your chance of stroke. These may include blood-pressure medications, anticoagulants, cholesterol medications, and antiplatelet drugs. They may also include anti-seizure medications, insulin for diabetic patients, medications for atrial fibrillation, and antidepressants.
Exercise
Staying physically active is vital for preventing the recurrence of a stroke. Exercise helps you control cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes. It’s also key for getting down to a healthy weight.
Walking, balance training, stretching, and light strength training are encouraged. The goal should be exercising on most days of the week for a half an hour. Exercising in group settings like classes and hikes can be helpful for accountability.
Diet
A healthy diet is one of the most effective ways to decrease the chance of stroke recurrence. A healthy diet combats obesity, lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and reduces cholesterol and blood-pressure levels.
Your concierge doctor will meet with a dietitian to create a personalized diet plan for you. A healthy diet typically includes fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and fat-free dairy products. It cuts down on processed foods, sweets, red meat, and dairy products in order to reduce sodium, added sugars, and saturated and trans fats.
Sleep
The physiological changes experienced during sleep apnea increase the risk of another stroke. Because of this, it’s important to treat sleep apnea effectively. Your concierge doctor will work with sleep experts to help address sleep apnea, sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, and other sleep issues.
Alcohol, Smoking, and Illegal Drugs
To reduce the chance of another stroke, it’s best to minimize alcohol consumption and to avoid smoking and tobacco usage. Use of illegal drugs can also contribute and should be avoided.
Stress
Chronic stress can increase blood pressure, the risk of blood clot formation, inflammation, increased cholesterol, high blood sugar, increased heart rate, and changes in blood vessel size. It can also lead to smoking, drinking, sleep problems, and overeating.
Meditation, yoga, massage, and tai chi can lower stress levels, as can counseling and therapy. Having a strong emotional support network is incredibly helpful.
Learn More About Stroke Prevention
When it comes to stroke prevention in West Palm Beach, FL, education is vital. To learn more, contact The Palm Beach Clinic today and schedule an informative consultation with Dr. Chauncey Crandall.