Health care Health Care Edition
BY JOVANNA AGUILAR
2025
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Local providers address heart health
What you need to know
Medical professionals said about 80% of stroke risk factors are preventable, including poor eating habits, obesity, smoking and drug abuse, which can lead to hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. These chronic conditions often occur together, compounding the risk of severe health outcomes. Dr. Sleiman El Jamal, the medical director of neurology at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest, said a patient should be at the hospital within four hours of su ering a stroke to be eligible for blood thinner medications. “If you have any symptoms, even if you’re not sure, call 911. Don’t even try to gure it out. Don’t wait it out, because every minute you lose, you’re really losing over a million neurons in your brain,” El Jamal said.
Local health care providers said strokes are becoming more prevalent in younger populations as risk factors historically seen in older populations, such as hypertension, are now showing up among younger people. Stroke cases are up 15.7% for ages 45-64 nationally in the last decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and up 14.6% among ages 18-44. “Although stroke is much more common in adults over the age of 65, ... the greatest rise in stroke incidence is actually being seen in individuals under the age of 50,” said Dr. Pam Zelnick, a vascular neurologist at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. Zelnick said a stroke occurs when there is a lack of blood ow to the brain. Ischemic strokes occur when the blood supply to a blood vessel in the brain is blocked, preventing brain tissue from receiving oxygen. Hemorrhagic
Stroke risk factors From 2016-24 in Harris County, death rates for the following risk factors increased.
Heart disease: +3.1%
Diabetes and obesity: +29.8% Hypertension: +24.1%
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTHCOMMUNITY IMPACT
strokes occur when a blood vessel bursts, causing brain bleeding and irritation. From 2018-22, Harris County had a stroke mortality rate of 15.5 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to Harris County Public Health.
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