Luke Perry's passing has come as a shock to both family and fans.
Many are now wondering how such a young and seemingly healthy man could die from a stroke.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke every year. Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies every 4 minutes.
The death of the actor, heart throb, and pop culture icon, strikes as a strong reminder to take care of our health.
"Stroke is defined as a sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain or sudden rupture of blood vessel in the brain." said Anmar Razak, M.D., Medical Director of Sparrow's Comprehensive Stroke Center.
Perry was 52-years-old. A majority of strokes do happen in people age 60 or older, but they can affect people of all ages, of both genders, and all races.
"We can't really say we're safe from having a stroke just by age," Razak said.
According to the CDC, in 2009, 34% of people hospitalized for stroke were less than 65 years old.
At this time, there's no word about what led to Perry's stroke, but stroke can happen to anyone who has these risk-factors.
"High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and these are especially important if they're not really managed very well and if they're not discovered," Razak said.
Smoking, excessive alcohol-use and unhealthy lifestyles like obesity and lack of exercise are other risk-factors.
Thankfully, there are ways to prevent stroke.
"That's done by way of a healthy lifestyle, exercise, eat well, do routine checkups, make sure your blood pressure is OK, make sure your cholesterol levels are fine, and stay away from smoking and excessive alcohol use."
Some common symptoms of stroke are sudden loss of function, ability to speak, and a loss of strength in your face, arm, or leg.
Call 911 right away if you see these signs.
Strokes can be painless so if you think you're having one, doctors said don't wait until it passes to get treatment.
You have a limited time window and getting help or surgery right away increases your chances of surviving a stroke without permanent damage.
