The Stroke Risk Assessment Tool

This stroke risk assessment tool will help you quantify your risk for a stroke. Please remember that everyone is at risk for a stroke. This stroke risk assessment tool will help you determine how great your risk is, and what areas you could work at to reduce your risk.

Instructions for the Stroke Risk Assessment Tool:
There are eight categories with three to four answers in each category. Each answer has a numerical value. Please circle or write down the numerical value that relates to your answer. Add up all the circled or written numbers for a final risk score.

Category #1 – Blood Pressure
a.	Your blood pressure is consistently under 120/80	1
b.	Your blood pressure is consistently between 120/80 and 140/90	2
c.	Your blood pressure is consistently over 140/90	4
d.	You don’t know your blood pressure reading	3
Category #2 –Cholesterol
a.	Your total cholesterol score is under 200	1
b.	Your total cholesterol score is between 200 and 240	2
c.	Your total cholesterol score is over 240	3
d.	You don’t know your cholesterol score	3
Category #3 – Diabetes
a.	You are not diabetic	1
b.	You are a borderline diabetic	2
c.	You have diabetes	3
d.	You don’t know what your blood sugar level is	3
Category #4 – Smoking
a.	You are a non-smoker	1
b.	You are trying to quit smoking	2
c.	You still smoke	3
Category #5 – Atrial Fibrillation
a.	Your heartbeat is always regular	1
b.	You heartbeat occasionally skips a beat or you don’t know	2
c.	You definitely have an irregular heartbeat	3
Category #6 – Weight
a.	Your weight is in the normal range for your height	1
b.	You are slightly overweight by at least 10-30 pounds	2
c.	You are overweight by more than 30 pounds	3
Category #7 – Exercise
a.	You exercise on a regular basis at least 3x per week	1
b.	You exercise occasionally	2
c.	You don’t exercise at all	3
Category #8 – Family History
a.	No one in your family has ever had a stroke	1
b.	You’re not sure if anyone has ever had a stroke	2
c.	At least one family member has had a stroke	3

Final Score for your Stroke Risk Assessment Tool:

Add up the circled or written numbers to determine your total risk score _____

Low Risk: 8 – 11 Total Stroke Risk Score
The lowest score possible is 8 since everyone has some level of risk for a stroke. If you scored a 3 for not knowing your blood pressure reading, cholesterol score or blood sugar level then please be proactive and see a qualified physician to determine these important risk factors.

Moderate Risk: 12 – 15 Total Stroke Risk Score
You have a higher probability of a stroke and need to take action to reduce this score. If you scored a 3 for not knowing your blood pressure reading, cholesterol score or blood sugar level then please be proactive and see a qualified physician to determine these important risk factors. Of the 8 categories only family history is uncontrollable. Pick one of the other 7 categories and begin to take positive steps to bring it down to a 1. Once you’ve accomplished this then maintain this level as you tackle another lifestyle risk to bring that into control.

Elevated Risk: 16 – 19 Total Stroke Risk Score
If you’re not seeing a qualified physician, then it is time to do so. Work with your physician to put together a comprehensive plan of action that will address reducing your risks. Especially concentrate on high blood pressure if you scored a 2 or more since this is the #1 risk factor for a stroke.

High Risk: 20 – 24 Total Stroke Risk Score 
According to the National Stroke Association,“. . .80% of strokes are preventable.” It is time for you to take action and see a qualified physician to put together a comprehensive plan of action that will address reducing your risk for a stroke. Don’t put this off any longer.

I hope this Stroke Risk Assessment Tool has been helpful to you. Please feel free to share it with others. Helping them to establish their stroke risk will also help them to begin to make the choices to lower their risk.  Also, the following video will help them understand how Nitric Oxide Therapy can be used to lower your risk for a stroke:

And to further support how Nitric Oxide Therapy could be helpful to stroke prevention, here is a recent study from the National Institutes of Health titled “The Role of Nitric Oxide in Stroke.”  Just click here to link to the study.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer