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The Blood Pressure and Stroke
Connection: Keep'em in check!


Washington's Voz
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Isabel M. Estrada Portales
06/24/2005

“I never knew what a stroke was until that day,” says Andrew “Drew” Walker, in the Baltimore City Cardiovascular Health Partnership (BCCHP) Strategy Development Workshop.

“I was taken to the emergency room and given several diagnostic tests. Although I had the signs and symptoms of a stroke, because I was only 31 years old, the physicians did not believe it could be a stroke. In our community (the African American community) people have strokes at an early age, but not at 31 years.”

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing 167,000 Americans each year. African Americans have more strokes at earlier ages, are more likely to die from them, and experience worse levels of recovery than other racial groups, as per the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). A stroke, sometimes called a “brain attack,” occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted.

When a stroke occurs, brain cells in the immediate area begin to die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function. There are two major kinds of stroke. The first, called an ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel or artery in the brain. About 80 percent of all strokes are ischemic.

The second, known as a hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel in the brain that breaks and bleeds into the brain. About 20 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic. As unexpected as the strokes may seem, the reality is that you can prevent them. Among the many resources for stroke prevention and information, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now a Preventing Strokes Interactive Tutorial that helps to understand strokes, its causes, and ways to prevent them. Hypertension and Stroke...Way Too Closely Related!

One of the more clear causes of stroke is hypertension, which can also cause heart attack, kidney problems, eye problems, and death. Anyone can develop high blood pressure, also called hypertension, but African Americans are at higher risk for this serious disease than any other race or ethnic group. High blood pressure tends to be more common, happens at an earlier age, and is more severe for many African Americans.

The good news is that high blood pressure can be controlled and better yet, it can be prevented! Check this Hypertension Interactive Tutorial. Just the first week of January 2005, an international study conducted by a group of Illinois researchers and published in BMC Medicine., reported that the high rates of hypertension among U.S. African Americans might be more associated with lifestyle than with genetics, which is actually good news: you can't change your genes, but can modify your lifestyle!

When your blood pressure is high, your heart has to work harder than it should to pump blood to all parts of the body. High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because most people feel healthy and don't even know that they have it. Among the prevention measures your blood pressure should be checked at least yearly, or more often if it proves high. It is easy, quick, and painless. That could be done at your doctor's office, your neighborhood clinic, health fairs at your church, or some shopping malls.

If you have a normal blood pressure: keep it like that! Eat healthy, exercise, aim for a healthy weight, eat less salt and sodium. Look for more detailed advice at the Hypertension Interactive Tutorial. The Rehab Part of It “As part of my care, I went into rehab at Kernan Rehabilitation Hospital,” recalls Walker.

“During my first day there, I went to the cafeteria and immediately went back to my room and asked for my meals to be served in my room. Everyone in the hospital was older (seniors) than me. Walker thought: “'Whatever it takes for me to get out of here, I am willing to do it because I want to do it.' Because of my willingness and eagerness to get better, the staff tried new exercises to speed up my recovery.”

As there were for Walker, treatments are available that can greatly reduce the damage caused by a stroke. However, you need to recognize the symptoms of a stroke and get to a hospital quickly, for this it's important to be familiar with the symptoms and there are many places to look for that information such as an Online Medical Symptom Checker. Getting treatment within 60 minutes can prevent disability.

“We know that African Americans are more likely to suffer strokes and have worse outcomes overall,” said Dr. Ronnie D. Horner, Director of Health Disparities Research Program at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NIH/NINDS, whose research results appeared in the April 2003 issue of Stroke. In the study, “these patients essentially received the same in-hospital treatment, but the pace of recovery from stroke was most likely inhibited for blacks due to a lack of social resources, such as transportation or supplemental in-home care that can otherwise enhance recovery over time,” said Dr. Horner.

Study's conclusion: “Low-income black stroke patients who experience delay in initiation of inpatient rehabilitation have a worse trajectory of functional recovery in the first year after stroke. Poverty-associated factors in the postdischarge setting may explain this phenomenon.” That's why is esencial to know how the rehabilitation process should work, and NIH has create an excellent Stroke Rehabilitation Interactive Tutorial with all the details.