https://8711410.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8711410/Creative/Images/CarProc1.jpg

May is Stroke Awareness Month

by Jeff Blackwood on May 4, 2023
Find me on:

May is National Stroke Awareness Month. For this post, we wanted to discuss the significance of carotid ultrasounds in stroke prevention for patients.

Most Common Than You Think

  • Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke.
  • Every 4 minutes, someone in the United States dies from a stroke.

These startling statistics consist of three different types of strokes: ischemic, hemorrhagic, and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Most of the strokes that occur – 87% of them – are ischemic. This type of stroke is caused by a blood clot or plaque build-up blocking off an artery that supplies blood to the brain.

Know the Risks

There are many factors that could put a patient at a higher risk of having an ischemic stroke. Risk only increases with age and strokes are the largest long-term disability cause for older adults in America. They are more likely to happen in men at a younger age, but because women tend to live longer, women are at greater lifetime risk. People who have had a stroke previously, or have a history of stroke in their family, are also at an elevated risk of stroke. More risks include, but are not limited to:

  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Hypertension
  • Using blood thinners

Technology for Stroke Prevention

Ultrasound imaging plays a critical role in the prevention of ischemic stroke by allowing trained sonographers to “see” inside the patient’s arteries with non-invasive sound waves. From there, physicians can use the resulting images and reports to detect the presence of plaque in arteries or clots in the patient’s blood, hopefully, before these conditions can lead to a stroke. This will allow patients to be informed about their health and be able to plan or make changes to their routine, diet, or medication use.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you are having any symptoms or fall into a high-risk category for strokes. If they recommend a carotid ultrasound, ask them to contact New Frontier Mobile Diagnostics at (913) 428-9488, so you can receive quality, affordable answers to your questions.

Topics: Ultrasound, Vascular, Stroke, Stroke Prevention, Access to Care