Banner Boswell StrokeCheck event screens more than 100 for stroke risk
SUN CITY, Ariz. (May 6, 2009) – More than 100 community members received free stroke screenings on May 5 during Banner Boswell Medical Center’s annual StrokeCheck. The ninth annual event at Banner Boswell was part of a Valleywide effort to educate the public about stroke during National Stroke Month.
Participants received a stroke risk assessment profile, blood pressure and pulse checks, a carotid artery assessment, and a personal physician consultation. Of the 118 people screened, four patients were deemed to be extremely high risk of stroke and were referred to their own physicians for follow up.
Scott Agran, MD, neuroradiologist and founder of the StrokeCheck screening program, encourages people to learn about the risk factors and prevention strategies for stroke, such as quitting smoking, controlling blood pressure and heart disease, and lowering cholesterol levels.
“Every 40 seconds in the United States, someone has a stroke,” Agran said. “The best way to treat a stroke is to prevent it in the first place.”
According to the American Stroke Association, about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke each year in the United States. Eighty-five to 90 percent of strokes are ischemic, meaning a blood vessel supplying oxygen to a part of the brain becomes blocked. A treatment called tPA is an option for some ischemic stroke patients that meet the criteria for its use. In some cases it can reverse or lessen a stroke’s damaging effects. This is why getting to the hospital within three hours of a stroke’s onset is vitally important.
While some stroke risk factors are beyond your control, there are things you can do to lower your risk. Visit www.bannerhealth.com for more information about stroke.
About Banner Boswell Medical Center
Banner Boswell Medical Center is a 501-bed, acute-care hospital located in Sun City, Arizona. Founded in 1970, Banner Boswell offers heart services, cancer care, orthopedics, neurology, women’s diagnostics, emergency care, and medical and surgical services. Banner Boswell is part of nonprofit Banner Health, the leading provider of health services in the Valley with 22 hospitals throughout the West. For more information about Banner Boswell, visit www.bannerhealth.com, keyword: Boswell
