Host: Are there some stroke risk factors that cannot be prevented? Dr. Nina Solenski: There are three major risk factors that we unfortunately cannot change and it has to do with our race. We know that Afro-Americans have a very high prevalence of stroke. One is gender. We know that males have a higher incidents than women. However we also know that when women do have strokes they actually die more frequently from them. Lastly is our age. As we age, the natural part of aging process increases the risk of the stroke. So those are three things that we can't really change.