Stroke Across America

There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Even though FDR himself said it, it is not necessarily true. Some enormous fears are of the unknown and the uncontrollable. Many of these are medical conditions, such as a break in the Achilles tendon, causing great pain. One of our best friends had this, and he was a great athlete so ever since then we figure that if he can get this then so can we. If we remember correctly, a female dancer on the show Dancing with the Stars suffered from this on a live episode.

Another fearsome medical condition is that of strokes, as described in the “Stroke Across America” infographic. The symptoms–paralysis (often on one side), loss of vision and the ability to communicate or even to comprehend communication–are frightening. What is not mentioned in the infographic is that if these are caught in time, the effects can be minimized in severity and in length of time. However, if the person does not have access to adequate medical attention and does not get help in time, then the long-term effects are unknown to us but we are certain that they are frightening.

What is hopeful, and what the infographic provides, is that there are some simple ways to reduce the risk of getting a stroke. This is by maintaining common sense health activities such as not smoking, watching your cholesterol, minimizing drinking alcoholic beverages, controlling diabetes, and maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regimen. Having a healthy blood pressure reading is also important.

Likes: Most infographics are nice to know; this one is something that you must know.

Dislikes: Information could’ve been better organized and presented in a more visually appealing manner.

The World Stroke Campaign aims to educate the masses that 1 in 6 people worldwide will have a stroke in their lifetime…but stroke can be prevented. Just think of the impact we can have if every person who sees this infographic shares it with 6 people. Life Line Screening could not be more enthusiastic to participate in this campaign as our mission is to make people aware of unrecognized health problems. Since our inception in 1993, we have screened over 6 million people, and currently screen over 1 million people each year at over 20,000 health screening events nationwide. Through this experience, we often identify serious health issues and have helped save thousands of lives.