My friend's father just had a stroke. He is 82. Prior to the stroke he was a very fun loving affable man. Now, he is paralyzed and is suffering from aphasia (Partial or total loss of the ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language, resulting from damage to the brain caused by injury or disease).  

In the aging industry, we focus a lot of our energy on Alzheimer's disease, a worthy cause indeed. However, stroke is third leading cause of death in the United States, behind high blood pressure and cancer.  

Every 45 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke and every three minutes someone dies from a stroke.  While your risk for stroke doubles every 5 years after the age of 55, stroke is not just an older person's disease-28 percent of strokes occur in people under age of 65.

Some of you know that I have a bachelor's degree in speech pathology. Prior to completing my masters of Science degree in gerontology from USC, I received my SLPA from Cal State Long Beach-that is a certificate that enables me to work with other speech pathologists.   

In order to receive this, I needed to work in a  

clinical setting with stroke victims for 70 hours.  

What I saw was people struggling to find the  

words to express the thoughts and feelings that  

once rolled off their tongues.  Stroke is the leading  

cause of disability among adults in the U.S.

Much of my speech pathology studies involved understanding the physiology of strokes. What I know and what you should know is that a stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts, causing the brain to starve.

If deprived of oxygen for even a short period of time, the brain nerve cells will start to die. Once the brain cells die from a lack of oxygen, the part of the body that section of the brain controls is affected through paralysis, language, motor skills, or vision. Seventy percent of all strikes are caused by blockage of a carotid artery.

• As former general counsel to a nursing home, I can tell you that many individuals who reside in a nursing home are there because they suffered a stroke. Statistics reveal that 40 percent of stroke victims experience moderate to severe impairments requiring special care.     

I want to keep all of you OUT of a nursing home.    

That is why I am offering each of you a FREE Ultrasound Stroke Screening at my next "Raising UP Your Parents" seminar at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Newport Beach, Saturday, Sept. 24. This free screening is painless, non-invasive, and only takes five minutes or less. While sitting up in a chair, the Sonographer (technologist) uses a "wand" to trace the neck arteries and an image is created on a video monitor. These "Carotid Arteries" are the pathway to the brain, and plaque shows up as shiny white. The more plaque, the more danger of restricted blood flow and blood clots.  

Although there are risk factors that we cannot change such as family history and age, life style choices pose the biggest risk.  

Suffice it to say you can take action to help prevent strokes by:

• Getting screened (most important) 
• Stopping smoking  
• Controlling your high blood pressure
• Lowering your cholesterol levels
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Exercising
• Utilizing appropriate medications like aspirin, prescription drugs like anticoagulants
• Treating carotid artery disease and treating unruptured cerebral aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation

If you or someone you know is having a stroke it is extremely important to call 911 immediately. Stroke is a medical emergency with a narrow time frame for treatment. Some strokes can be treated intravenously with the clot-busting drug, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), if it is given within three hours of the onset of symptoms, depending on what type of stroke it is.