S ometimes just getting up in the morning is a challenge. I just hope I don't run out of credit. I just try to keep active, keep moving. Stroke, a disturbance or interruption of blood flow to your brain, is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and the most common cause of serious, long-term disability. A medical emergency, stroke requires prompt treatment and timing can mean the difference between life and death.
Early treatment can minimize damage to the brain and the degree of disability.
Every year, about 700,000 Americans experience a stroke and about 160,000 people die from a stroke. Only cardiovascular disease and cancer cause more deaths annually in this country. The good news is that fewer Americans now die of a stroke than did a few decades ago. Control of the major risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol may be responsible for the decline. Without her there when Harold went down, the story might have had a different ending.