Medicare and stroke awareness

It is important to know the signs of stroke to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Stroke is one of the major causes of death in the United States and can cause major disabilities for adults.

A stroke is caused by blocked blood flow to the brain and can affect a person’s speech, movement, memory, and more. Some of the warning signs of a stroke are:

• Weakness in the face, arm or leg.
• Difficulty speaking
• Vision loss
• Dizziness
• Brief loss of consciousness

Always call 911 if you think you or a loved one is having a stroke.

Strokes can happen to anyone at any age but the majority of strokes occur to people over the age of 65. Bad habits and medical conditions like smoking, drinking, high blood pressure, diabetes and eating poorly, increase your chance of having a stroke. Medicare provides plenty of preventative services to further aid you in stroke prevention in which most cases are completely free.

• Cardiovascular disease screening
• Cardiovascular behavioral therapy
• Alcohol misuse screenings and counseling
• Diabetes screenings and self-management training
• Nutrition therapy services and Obesity behavioral therapy
• Counseling to prevent tobacco use and tobacco-caused diseases

Medicare provides a “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit where your doctor will go over free screenings and preventative services that are available to you. You can also ask your doctor for advice on how to improve your health.

For more Medicare information visit BenaVest.com

Source: Medicare.gov