To Prevent Stroke a Healthy Living Lifestyle Is Vital

The good news is that stroke deaths in the U.S. are on the decline... the bad news is that they are still the third leading cause of death (after cardiovascular disease and cancer) in this country. More work is needed to prevent stroke.

The American Heart Association is updating its guidelines on reducing the risk of stroke, and now suggests that by living a healthy lifestyle (no smoking, eating a low fat diet, exercising regularly and staying a healthy weight) you can reduce the risk of that first, devastating stroke by as much as 80%. Hard to argue with those numbers.

Once considered a problem of the elderly, experts are seeing a rise in the number of pediatric stroke cases in recent years. And while there are an estimated 6.4 million stroke survivors, 20% are so functionally impaired that they need constant care.

Prevention is a big part of the revised guidelines, and for the first time they talk about stroke as a continuum of related events instead of a single, isolated episode. Those related events include ischemic stroke, non-ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), often considered a warning that a bigger stroke is on the way.

Tips For Healthy Living on a Budget

These days we're all watching what we spend, cutting back (or out) where we can. Luckily you can cut back on the costs of staying healthy without going back on your intentions to live well with these tips for healthy living.

Eating healthily, being physically active and getting regular healthcare are all still possible and affordable even on today's smaller, tighter budgets according to experts.

A spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, Bethany Thayer, herself a registered dietician, points out that eating healthy can be done on a budget. You just need to plan carefully and shop smart. Here are some superb savings tips:

- Make as much of your own food as you can from scratch - prepackaged foods always cost more.

- Plan your trip to the supermarket armed with a detailed list and a full stomach - never go in hungry or in a hurry.

- Enjoy seasonal foods when you can - but only buy as much as you know you can eat before it spoils.