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Can strokes be prevented?

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As described above, a common reason why a blood clot forms is because it develops over a patch of atheroma on the lining of an artery. Certain 'risk factors' increase the chance of atheroma forming - which increase your risk of having a stroke (and heart attack). You can reduce the risk of having a stroke (or a further stroke) if you reduce your 'risk factors'. These are briefly mentioned below.

Briefly, risk factors that can be modified are:

Smoking. If you smoke, you should make every effort to stop. The chemicals in tobacco are carried in your bloodstream and can damage your arteries. If you smoke, stopping smoking can greatly cut your risk of having a stroke.
High blood pressure. Make sure your blood pressure is checked at least once a year. If it is high it can be treated. High blood pressure usually causes no symptoms, but can be damaging to the arteries. If you have high blood pressure, treatment of the blood pressure is likely to have the greatest effect on reducing your risk of having a stroke.
If you are overweight, losing some weight is advised.
A high cholesterol. This can be treated if it is high.
Inactivity. If able, you should aim to do some moderate physical activity on most days of the week for at least 30 minutes. For example, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, gardening, etc.
Diet. You should aim to eat a healthy diet. Briefly, a healthy diet means:

* AT LEAST five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day.
* THE BULK OF MOST MEALS should be starch-based foods (such as cereals, wholegrain bread, potatoes, rice, pasta), plus fruit and vegetables.
* NOT MUCH fatty food such as fatty meats, cheeses, full-cream milk, fried food, butter, etc. Use low fat, mono-, or poly-unsaturated spreads.
* INCLUDE 2-3 portions of fish per week. At least one of which should be 'oily' (such as herring, mackerel, sardines, kippers, pilchards, salmon, or fresh tuna).
* If you eat meat it is best to eat lean meat, or poultry such as chicken.
* If you do fry, choose a vegetable oil such as sunflower, rapeseed or olive oil.
* Try not to add salt to food, and limit foods which are salty.