Carrying excess weight boosts the risk of stroke by increasing the risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. High blood pressure is the single most important controllable risk factor. It increases stroke risk 4 to 6 times. Smoking doubles stroke risk. It damages blood vessel walls and raises blood pressure.
Physical inactivity is associated with higher stroke risk.
A Comprehensive Approach UW Hospital was recently designated one of the top 100 stroke hospitals in America by an independent national health care assessment organization. The physicians and nurses in the Comprehensive Stroke Program at UW Hospital and Clinics can intervene at every stage of the disease to prevent stroke or minimize its effects. The treatment teams in the stroke program include experts in neurology, neurological surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, radiology, rehabilitation medicine, and preventive cardiology. The Stroke Prevention Clinic is designed to detect patients' risk and develop ways to reduce those risks. Patients brought to UW Hospital with a suspected stroke are treated by members of the acute stroke team, available 24 hours a day.