Primary prevention
About one in four people will experience a stroke in their lifetime and this can leave them with permanent disabilities1.
A person’s first stroke is called a ‘primary stroke’. The things that can be done to reduce this risk are called ‘primary prevention’.
Primary prevention is focused on keeping our brains healthy and reducing stroke risk factors. But because someone has not yet had a stroke, they may not be aware that they are at an increased risk. For example, people with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to have a stroke2.
Read more about the types of risk factors and how to manage them here:
- Risk factors we cannot change (non-modifiable risk factors)
- Risk factors we can change (modifiable risk factors
References
- Valery L Feigin, Mayowa O Owolabi, Valery L Feigin, Foad Abd-Allah, Rufus O Akinyemi, Natalia V Bhattacharjee, Michael Brainin, et al. Pragmatic Solutions to Reduce the Global Burden of Stroke: A World Stroke Organization–Lancet Neurology Commission. The Lancet Neurology. 2023. 22(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00277-6
- PA Wolf, RD Abbott, WB Kannel. Atrial fibrillation as an independent risk factor for stroke: The Framingham Study. Stroke. 1991. Aug;22(8):983-8. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.str.22.8.983
STROKE RISKS
Read about risk factors we can change 
LIFESTYLE
ENVIRONMENT
MEDICAL
CONDITIONS
Read about risk factors we cannot change
AGE
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ETHNICITY
GENETICS
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