Stoke: A life changer

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Stroke: A Life Changing Event
Introduction
According to the American Stroke Association, someone dies every four minutes from a stroke (American Stroke Association, 2014). This can be devastating to the loved ones who survive the victim. Surviving a stroke requires a tremendous amount of therapy and will power to overcome the disabilities and challenges that arise after having a stroke.
The main reason I chose to write about Strokes is because I have lost two important people in my life to complications of a stroke. My paternal grandmother is the first of which who suffered a thromboembolic stroke during a mitral valve replacement surgery, and the other being my maternal great grandmother who suffered and ischemic stroke. Both of these strong women had major deficits including not being able to walk, feed themselves and in the case of my paternal grandmother breathe independently without the use of a ventilator.
Mortality
Unfortunately, Oklahoma doesn’t fare well when it comes to its people having strokes. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 1,980 people in Oklahoma died of a stroke in 2010 making strokes the fifth leading cause of death in Oklahoma (AHA, 2013). There are many reasons as to why Oklahoma has such a high risk of strokes. Our population enjoys smoking, eating a diet high in fats and being sedentary. Those three things combined are a deadly combination.
Chemicals found in cigarettes cause significant hardening of the arteries which in turn raises blood pressure and increases the risk of having a stroke. When it comes to those fried foods that we all like, there is an excess of cholesterol which clog our arteries making it harder for blood to get to the vital organs. Lastly, when our bodies ...

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...ly quit tobacco use and the third is to protect all Oklahomans from exposure to secondhand smoke. (p. 13)
In conclusion, strokes dramatically change the life of not only the person but their entire family. Stroke remains one of the most common ways for a resident in Oklahoma to die. There are many things Oklahomans can do to prevent suffering a stroke but they require great determination to overcome. The risk factors include smoking, eating a diet high in fats and living a sedentary lifestyle are all modifiable risk factors. A significant demographic in Oklahoma is the amount of women. Unfortunately they have a higher risk of dying from a stroke then men do. Healthy people 2020 have set goals to reduce the number of people using tobacco products to better the health of the United States. So, I leave you with this, don’t smoke, exercise daily and skip the fast food.

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