you've all heard this before cigarette smoking promotes atherosclerosis it makes the blood vessels stickier it makes the blood vessels narrow so this is one of the you know biggest you know most treatable risk factors because treating it is going to can reverse the situation with a lot of the damage to the blood vessels alcohol abuse is a problem for stroke for a number of reasons it can cause heart rhythm problems it can cause increased risk of bleeding in the brain and it can cause an increased risk of blood clots forming in the brain so