Acupuncture for Stroke Prevention

By Lisa Rocchetti, Director of Admissions and Marketing
& Nina Grenningloh, Communications Specialist

May is National Stroke Awareness Month. Run by the National Stroke Association, the goal is to make Americans aware that they may be able to save a life of a person experiencing a stroke.

To honor National Stroke Awareness Month, Emperor’s College Acupuncture Clinic is supporting the National Stroke Association’s efforts to educate Americans about the risk factors associated with stroke.

For a comprehensive list of stroke risk factors and stroke prevention guidelines, take a look at the Stroke 101 Fact Sheet published by the National Stroke Association.

Acupuncture for stroke prevention

Some of the most common risk factors are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease or a previous stroke which can be mitigated successfully under the collaborative care of a physician and an acupuncturist.

Atsuki Maeda, LAc

Recent studies have documented the efficacy of acupuncture in controlling these risk factors. Additionally, patients who are taking prescription medications for high blood pressure or diabetes should consider adding acupuncture treatments to their health maintenance routine. According to stroke acupuncture specialist, Atsuki Maeda, LAc, acupuncture will help promote the efficacy of prescription drugs and further reduce the risk for stroke.

As the director of the Stroke Rehabilitation and Dementia Care Clinic at Emperor’s College Acupuncture Clinic, Maeda has helped hundreds of stroke patients. “From the Oriental medical perspective, the kidney and liver directly affect the state of blood flow in the body”, says Maeda. “If your liver and kidneys are healthy, your blood flows smoothly and is less prone to forming blood clots. Regular acupuncture treatments can promote liver and kidney health.”

Healthy lifestyle choices

And Maeda adds: “Acupuncture has an additional benefit. Through regular treatments many patients become more conscious about their lifestyle choices. They start to exercise more, eat healthier, and some have stopped smoking – all of which further helps reduce the risk for stroke.”

According to the National Stroke Association, by 2030, it is estimated that 4 million people will have had a stroke. It is Maeda’s hope that we will not reach that number. “If people start making conscious choices about the way they live and add some acupuncture to their medical routine, a lot of strokes can be prevented.”