Dr. Lawrence is associated with the UCI Medical Center. Tonight Dr. Lawrence will be discussing Strokes, Stroke Prevention, treatment and other related topics. Without further delay allow me to introduce Dr. Peter Lawrence, an associate of UCI Medical Center in California who will field your questions. I smoke about two packs of cigarettes a day.
Smoking is one of the risk factors that can be modified by a patient.
First there is a slight increase of strokes in patients who have immediate family members particularly parents or grandparents who have had a stroke. Secondly, strokes are hereditary because families share common risk factors. The most important of which is high blood pressure or hypertension. High blood pressure is another of the risk factors, which can be modified by controlling blood pressure. There is a direct correlation between the degree of blood pressure elevation and the risk of stroke.