Here’s what we’ll cover in this blog post:
- Why stroke prevention matters
- Science-backed stroke prevention strategies
- How you can start reducing your risk today
A stroke isn’t just a sudden event, but the culmination of decades of cellular damage that silently builds in the body. It’s a process driven by sedentary lifestyle habits, stressful environments, genetic risk factors, and the process of biological aging itself.
It’s true that strokes remain a leading age-related disease and top cause of death globally, the number of strokes deaths have slightly decreased between 2022 and 2023, and that’s thanks in no small part to major advances in stroke prevention strategies.
Here’s what research shows about stroke prevention, why it matters for brain aging, and how you can take action to dramatically reduce your risk.
Why Stroke Prevention Matters
Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is blocked, depriving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients. This leads to rapid death of brain cells, causing slurred speech, blurry vision, dizziness, muscle weakness, and sudden confusion. It has serious and sudden consequences that can drastically reduce our healthspan, requiring immediate medical attention.
But the damage that happens leading up to a stroke can stem from several factors. These include low metabolic health, chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, toxin exposure, hormone shifts, and the process of biological aging itself.
Every year, more than 600,000 Americans suffer their first stroke, with nearly an extra 200,000 having a recurrent event. Stroke remains the fifth leading cause of death, claiming about 130,000 lives annually in the US alone.
But the damage goes beyond mortality. Strokes accelerate brain aging, leading to dependence, disability, and faster cognitive decline. And 80% of stroke events are preventable with strategies we already know work based on a large body of scientific evidence
What Does the Science Say About Prevention?
Prevention begins with screening. Regular visits with a primary care physician help identify blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and hormone risks early. Tracking biological age may soon be a critical tool, offering a window into disease risk before clinical risk factors even become apparent, which could inform precision strategies that are effective for each unique individual, rather than general population level recommendations.
The earlier we act, the better our health outcomes. Some of the actions we can take are simple to adopt and extremely effective. Not just for stroke prevention, but for overall healthspan. That’s because many of the risk factors that drive stroke drive several other diseases.
In a sense, stroke prevention and healthspan medicine are synonymous. That’s because healthspan medicine is about optimizing health before red flags emerge, rather than addressing risk factors as they arise to slow or treat disease.
Lifestyle interventions remain powerful:
Aspects of the Mediterranean diet, especially olive oil and nuts, are consistently associated with lower stroke risk.
Movement also matters: prolonged sitting increases stroke risk, while breaking up the day with walks or light activity provides measurable protection. Clinicians recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise a week for optimal protection.
Hormone health is another overlooked factor. Early menopause and severe vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) raise cardiovascular and stroke risk. Managing menopause symptoms may reduce this risk, while Rapamycin is being studied to delay ovarian aging.
The Role of Sleep, Stress, and Social Connection
Sleep irregularity predicts higher stroke risk, even in healthy individuals, with studies showing a 26% increased risk of heart attack and stroke in those with inconsistent sleep and wake times. Setting a “go-to-bed alarm, creating a calm sleep environment, and treating sleep apnea can lower this risk. Social connection is equally protective.
Strong networks reduce blood pressure, lower inflammation, and release neurochemicals that protect the brain.
One study even showed protein signatures of social isolation directly predict increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and neurodegeneration.
Medical and Pharmaceutical Interventions
Managing blood pressure is foundational. Keeping values near 120/80, with healthy lifestyle habits and blood pressure medications like Telmisartan, can dramatically lower stroke risk.
Cholesterol control is next. Monitoring ApoB levels and using statins can protect vascular health and prevent blood vessels in the brain from getting clogged.
Blood sugar is critical: chronic hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) causes oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular damage. Metformin lowers this risk and has been shown to reduce stroke incidence. GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Semaglutide, lower stroke and cardiovascular events, preventing an estimated 34,000 strokes and heart attacks each year in the US.
Other surprising therapies show promise, like Tadalafil (Cialis). A PDE5 inhibitor used for erectile dysfunction, Tadalafil has been linked to reduced all-cause mortality (34%), strokes (34%), dementia (32%), and heart attacks (27%), outperforming sildenafil (Viagra). No big surprises here, though: healthy blood flow is key for stroke prevention.
Quitting smoking is essential, as toxins from cigarettes accelerate oxidative stress, oxidative stress, vascular damage, and multi-organ aging.
Stroke as a Manifestation of Biological Aging
Stroke is not just a vascular problem. It reflects systemic biological aging. Vascular stiffening, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and cellular senescence converge to heighten risk. It’s no surprise then that many of the interventions shown to be effective for stroke prevention are also gathering data for slowing biological aging itself, extending healthy years by preventing multiple diseases.
Biological age diagnostics can quantify this vulnerability. For example, if your biological age is five years older than your chronological age, your risk of stroke or vascular dementia rises by 40%. This makes test–intervention–retest strategies crucial. Track biological age, act with evidence-based interventions, then retest to measure progress and modify as needed.
Science-backed Stroke Prevention Strategies
The best prevention strategy is holistic and multi-pronged. Here’s a quick checklist of all the points covered above, so you can start reducing your risk today:
- Adopt a Mediterranean diet rich in nuts and olive oil
- Move regularly and break up sedentary time, with at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week
- Prioritize sleep regularity and treat apnea
- Manage blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose proactively
- Stay socially connected and manage stress
- Quit smoking to reduce systemic damage
- Explore safe, evidence-based therapies like Metformin, GLP-1s, Telmisartan, or Tadalafil to potentially lower your risk
- Consider trying GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have been shown to help treat sleep apnea, or Trazodone to enhance sleep quality
- Try a biological age test to see what really moves the needle for your unique biology
Every thought, every memory, every movement depends on uninterrupted blood flow to the brain. A single blockage, what we call a stroke, can take that away in seconds.
But the biology that sets us up for stroke starts decades earlier. That means we can take control of our health and reduce our risk factors decades before symptoms arise.
That’s part of what makes strokes highly preventable today. In fact, 80% of strokes can be prevented with evidence-based strategies for prevention. With the right knowledge, guidance, and action, we can target the biological processes that drive strokes, making prevention not just possible, but actionable.
Note: The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.