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What if I told you there was something you could do to reduce your risk of stroke that was so easy, inexpensive and relative painless? Would you believe me?
The current incidence rate of stroke in America is astounding.
- 1 person has a stroke about every 40 seconds in the United States per year.1
- 25% of those strokes are recurrent.1
- Stroke is the 4th leading cause of death.1
- The prevalence of stroke will increase about 25% by the year 2030.1
The incidence of stroke is projected to increase over the next 16 years due in part largely to the escalating epidemic of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, one of which is physical inactivity.1 Physical inactivity is a very important modifiable risk factor because you can change it RIGHT NOW.
The opposite of physical INACTIVITY is physical ACTIVITY. Physical activity can be defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.”1 That’s a pretty broad statement that essentially means MOVE.
Frequent physical activity is an important behavior for individual and population health.2 This is why the recommendations for physical activity for the general public and to reduce your risk of stroke are:
- 30 minutes of moderate exercise, 5 days week
o Example: Brisk walk that accelerates the heart rate
- 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, 3 days week
o Example: Rapid breathing and substantial increase in heart rate
These recommendations are for aerobic exercise and are in addition to activities of daily living (ADL’s). That being that ADL’s tend to be short in nature, less then 10 minutes, and lighter intensity.
- 8-10 exercises for the major muscle groups, 2 non-consecutive days of the week
o Example: Push ups, squats, lunges, crunches, plank, pull ups, etc.
These recommendations are the minimum for increasing and maintaining muscle strength and endurance.
Now you must ask the question, where do you start?
Simple answer, get out there and move doing what you know how to do.
If you are unsure where to start, we’ll be happy to help! Contact us and we’ll be sure to create an individualized program for you!
