Cigarette smoking Heart disease Diabetes Atrial fibrillation Of these risk factors, the American Heart Association reports that high blood pressure is the most controllable. Wayne Giles, M.D., medical epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adds that many of the risks go hand in hand, including high blood cholesterol, cigarettes, physical inactivity and obesity. And the AHA reports that individual response to stress may be a contributing factor since people under stress may overeat, start smoking or smoke more than they otherwise would. Your risk of brain attack increases as you get older.
Men are at greater risk than women.
Personal medical history. If you ve already had a stroke, you re more likely to have a stroke than someone who hasn t. Heredity. If a close blood relative has had a stroke or died of stroke, your stroke risk is increased. Only about 19 percent of adults today have no risk factors, Giles says. About 35 percent have one risk factor, and 29 percent have two risk factors.