Did you know

AFib increases
your risk for stroke?1,2

Click to learn about other risk factors that may increase your risk of stroke.
View Risk Factors
Developed by Pfizer

Risk Factors for Stroke

Click on each risk factor for stroke to learn more. Remember, ONLY a health care provider can determine your individual risk for stroke if you have AFib.

AFib patient discussing risks for stroke with doctor

Older Age

Woman with her hand over her heart

Female Sex

Couple walking together

Heart Failure

Blood pressure monitor

High Blood Pressure

Person washing vegetables

Diabetes

Person that has had a stroke

Previous Stroke

Blood cells in arteries

Vascular Disease

Person's stomach area representing obesity

Overweight/Obesity

Cigarettes

Lifestyle Behaviors

Other risk factors may be considered such as family history, genetics and race/ethnicity. Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease.3

If you have had a stroke, you are at high risk for another stroke. Some people recover fully, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities.15

Patient in rehabilitation center trying to walk

Long-term complications of stroke may include15:

  • Inability to move some parts of the body (paralysis) or weakness
  • Trouble with thinking, learning, judgment, and memory
  • Difficulty talking, swallowing, or eating
  • Trouble controlling or expressing emotions
  • Pain in the hands and feet that feels worse when moving or when temperature changes
  • Numbness or strange sensations
  • Problems with bladder and bowel control
  • Depression

Symptoms of Stroke16

Watch for Sudden:

Numbness

or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, mainly on one side of the body

Confusion

trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech

Trouble seeing

in one or both eyes

Trouble walking

dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination

Strong headache

with no known cause

Act F.A.S.T. to Identify Stroke

Stroke treatments work best within 3 hours of the first symptoms appearing.
If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and do the following test:

F

Face

Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A

Arm

Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm move downward?

S

Speech

Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Is the speech slurred or strange?

T

Time

If you see any of these signs, call 9-1-1 right away.

Keep track of when any symptoms first appear. Do not drive to the hospital or let someone else drive you.

Call 9-1-1 for an ambulance so that medical personnel can begin life-saving treatment.
REFERENCES
  1. Wolf PA, Abbott RD, Kannel WB. Atrial fibrillation as an independent risk factor for stroke: the Framingham Study. Stroke. 1991;22(8):983-988. doi:10.1161/01.STR.22.8.983
  2. January CT, Wann LS, Alpert JS, et al. 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;64(21):e1-e76. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2014.03.022
  3. Know your risk for stroke. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/risk_factors.htm
  4. National Center for Health Statistics. Mortality data on CDC WONDER Database. Accessed July 26, 2023. https://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd.html
  5. Heart failure. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/heart_failure.htm
  6. Fohtung RB, Rich MW. Identification of patients at risk of stroke from atrial fibrillation. US Cardiology Review. 2016;10(2):60-64. doi:10.15420/usc.2016:1:1
  7. Dzeshka MS, Shantsila A, Lip GYH. Atrial fibrillation and hypertension. Hypertension. 2017;70(5):854-861. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.08934
  8. Facts about hypertension. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm
  9. Hindricks G, Potpara T, Dagres N, et al. 2020 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS): the Task Force for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) developed with the special contribution of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC. Eur Heart J. 2021;42(5):373-498. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa612
  10. What is diabetes? National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes
  11. Stroke Risk in Atrial Fibrillation Working Group. Independent predictors of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review. Neurology. 2007;69(6):546-554. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000267275.68538.8d
  12. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/PAD.htm
  13. Coronary artery disease (CAD). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/coronary_ad.htm
  14. Stroke: causes and risk factors. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/stroke/causes
  15. Treat and recover from stroke. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/treatments.htm
  16. Stroke signs and symptoms. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/signs_symptoms.htm