Banner Boswell StrokeCheck event screens more than 125 for stroke risk
SUN CITY, Ariz. (May 20, 2011) – More than 125 community members received free stroke screenings on May 20 during Banner Boswell Medical Center’s annual StrokeCheck. The 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, cholesterol and pulse checks, a carotid artery assessment, and a personal physician consultation. In addition to the hospital staff and volunteers, nearly a dozen physicians donated their time to participate in the community event. Of the 127 people screened, six participants 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 800,000 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.
Banner Boswell Medical Center, located at 10401 W. Thunderbird Blvd. in Sun City, is a 501-bed campus specializing in heart care, cancer care, stroke care, orthopedics, acute rehabilitation, skilled nursing and emergency care. Supporting Banner Boswell’s mission of excellent patient care is the Sun Health Foundation, which encourages charitable giving to support the hospital. Banner Boswell is part of nonprofit Banner Health. For more information about Banner Boswell, visit www.BannerHealth.com/Boswell.
