A Note from Brady

Preventive Care is Brain Care

This issue of My Boone Health focuses on the most complex organ in the human body. Fortunately, caring for our brains isn’t nearly as complicated — what’s good for your heart is also good for your brain.

According to the American Stoke Association, the biggest risk factors for stroke include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, smoking, and obesity. Seeing your primary care provider for annual check-ups, screenings, and health concerns can help prevent or identify issues early. Your provider can help you improve or maintain a healthy weight, and optimal cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar. A healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, a balanced diet, stress management, and adequate sleep, benefits both your brain and your body, including our moods and cognitive functioning.

Sleep is often an overlooked contributor to our health and well-being, but it’s as necessary as food or water. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Sleep is important to a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. Without sleep, you can’t form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn and create new memories. Lack of sleep makes it harder to concentrate and respond quickly.”

It is especially important that we get non-REM deep sleep to feel refreshed, but many of us find it difficult to get the amount and quality of sleep we need. If avoiding caffeine and alcohol late in the day, turning off your phone or tablet an hour before bed, and relaxing routines aren’t helping, talk to your primary care provider. Sleep disruption is a common symptom of many chronic health conditions, including sleep apnea. If needed, your primary care provider can refer you for a sleep study.

Boone Health’s Sleep Center is a specialized service that diagnoses and treats sleep disorders. We offer inpatient monitoring in our sleep lab along with outpatient sleep monitoring you can do at home. Our sleep lab professionals will show you how to wear and use the monitor. A boardcertified Sleep Medicine physician will interpret the information from your study and share your results and treatment recommendations with your primary care provider who referred you and, if needed, other specialists. More information can be found at boone.health/services/ neurology-neurosurgery/ sleep-medicine.

In addition to offering excellent preventive and diagnostic care, Boone Health is proud to serve mid-Missouri as a Level I Stroke Center. Our interventional radiology team includes radiologists who specialize in neurology and can act quickly to stop a stroke before it causes further damage. Our Inpatient Rehab unit and Boone Therapy professionals help people regain function and restore their quality of life.

Remember, time is brain, so BE FAST If you or someone else has any of the following symptoms, don’t take chances, call 911. Our Emergency Medical Services team can begin treatment before you get to the hospital.

Balance: Sudden loss of balance or coordination

Eyes: Blurred, double, or lost vision

Face: Drooping on one side of the face

Arms: Weakness in the arms or legs

Speech: Slurred speech or difficulty speaking

Time: Don’t delay, call 911!

Boone Health is committed to helping you achieve your healthiest self. Brain health is vital, and we are here to assist you and your family. I strongly encourage you to maintain regular checkups and work with your healthcare team to get your vital signs and lab values within normal ranges, and to do it sooner rather than later. Be well!