Stroke - Risk Factors - Risk Factors

There are many risk factors for stroke. You can treat or control some of your risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking. But you cannot control others such as your age or sudden changes in your health—for example, if you have an aneurysm.

Risk factors for stroke. This animation discusses some of the main risk factors for stroke, which are also described below. Medical Animation Copyright © 2023 Nucleus Medical Media, All rights reserved.

The major risk factors for stroke include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Heart and blood vessel diseases. Conditions that can cause blood clots or other blockages include coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart valve disease, and carotid artery disease.
  • High LDL cholesterol levels
  • Smoking
  • Brain aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). AVMs are tangles of poorly formed arteries and veins that can break open in the brain.
  • Viral Infections or conditions that cause inflammation, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Watch our video to learn more about how SARS-Cov-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, may raise the risk of stroke. Additionally, we offer information and resources on how we are working hard to support necessary COVID-19 research. 
  • Age. A stroke can happen at any age, but the risk is higher for babies under the age of 1 and for adults. In adults, the risk increases with age.
  • Sex. At younger ages, men are more likely than women to have a stroke. But women tend to live longer, so their lifetime risk of having a stroke is higher. Women who take birth control pills or use hormone replacement therapy are at higher risk. Women are also at higher risk during pregnancy and in the weeks after giving birth. High blood pressure during pregnancy—such as from preeclampsia—raises the risk of stroke later in life.
  • Race and ethnicity. In the United States, stroke occurs more often in African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, and Hispanic adults than in white adults.
  • Family history and genetic . Your risk of having a stroke is higher if a parent or other family member has had a stroke, particularly at a younger age. Certain genes affect your stroke risk, including those that determine your blood type. People with blood type AB (which is not common) have a higher risk.

Other risk factors for stroke—some of which you can control—include:

  • Anxiety, depression, and high stress levels. Working long hours and not having much contact with friends, family, or others outside the home are also linked with higher risk of stroke.
  • Living or working in areas with air pollution.
  • Other medical conditions, such as certain bleeding disorders, sleep apnea, kidney disease, migraine headaches, and sickle cell disease.
  • Blood-thinners or other medicines that can lead to bleeding.
  • Other unhealthy lifestyle habits, including eating unhealthy foods, not getting regular physical activity, drinking alcohol, getting too much sleep (more than 9 hours), and using illegal drugs such as cocaine.
  • Overweight and obesity or carrying extra weight around your waist and stomach.