About every 45 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, making it the leading cause of long-term disability. Survivors are often left with physical deficits and fear of suffering another stroke. As a stroke survivor, you can do two things to reduce the risk of a second stroke: control your blood pressure with medication and stick to a properly designed exercise program appropriate to your age and health status. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, increases the risk of stroke. If you have high blood pressure, the heart must work harder to push blood through your body. A variety of medications can help to lower blood pressure, but to be effective, you must take them regularly as prescribed, probably for the rest of your life. This may be difficult to remember because high blood pressure, known as the “silent killer,” causes no obvious symptoms such as pain or shortness of breath.
As members of your stroke rehabilitation team, part of our goal is to make sure you take your blood pressure medicine as directed. The other part of our goal is to design an appropriate exercise plan for you. Exercising after a stroke may seem counterintuitive. After all, exercise makes the heart work harder. But a properly designed program can
- strengthen the heart
- improve stamina without endangering your health
- restore physical abilities lost because of the stroke
- help prevent another stroke
- allow you gradually to increase your activity level and stamina
Regular exercise has other benefits, too. It helps to lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, encourage weight loss, improve the regulation of blood sugar and decrease the amount of inflammatory agents in the blood. It is important that we work together as a team to develop an exercise program that helps reduce your chances of having another stroke, regardless of your age or physical limitations. Rehabilitation from stroke is a lifetime commitment. You need to keep taking your medications and let us help you improve your health and prevent another stroke through appropriate exercise.
