As I was saying before, there are certain precautions you can take that could prevent suffering from a stroke. While there are some precautions you can take, there are other risk factors that a healthy life style cannot change. You could be the healthiest person alive and still have a stroke because of these permanent risk factors. It is still important to stay healthy, but you should still comprehend that there are certain things that you cannot change.
Some of the risk factors that you cannot prevent are:

  • Age. The risk of stroke increases with age.
  • Race. African Americans, Native Americans, and Alaskan Natives have a higher risk than those of other races.
  • Gender. Stroke is more common in men than women until age 75, when more women than men have strokes. Because women live longer than men, more women than men die of stroke.
  • Family history. The risk for stroke is greater if a parent, brother, or sister has had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). For more information, see the topic Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA).
  • History of stroke or TIA.