Overview

• Nutrition experts recommend eating omega-3-rich salmon, fibre-packed chickpeas, nitrate-rich spinach, soy protein and polyphenol-rich coffee weekly to support healthy blood pressure levels.
• Cardiologist Dr Evan Levine advises quitting smoking and vaping, limiting alcohol to one drink per day, and cutting fast food to reduce key stroke risk factors.
• Managing high blood pressure and cholesterol through diet, exercise and medication forms a cornerstone of stroke prevention.
• Levine warns that adults over 70 using aspirin as a painkiller may face higher hemorrhagic stroke risk and should consider alternative pain relief unless prescribed for carotid disease.
• Addressing sleep apnea with lifestyle changes or CPAP therapy is crucial, since untreated apnea elevates blood pressure and atrial fibrillation risks linked to stroke.