Siruno Stroke Prevention

Family Health Care, Oncology, Orthopedics, OB Health Services: Caribou, ME

Siruno Stroke Prevention

The Siruno Stroke Prevention Program was created in honor of Dr. Cesar Siruno, a long time and much admired General Surgeon at Cary Medical Center.   Dr. Siruno served the hospital and its patients for more than 20 years.  He and his wife, the late Florentina Siruno, raised a family in Caribou and established strong relationships in the community.   Dr. Siruno died after suffering a major stroke and being diagnosed with cancer in 2009.  Dr. Siruno was a strong believer in health promotion and prevention.  The Siruno family established the Stroke Prevention Program as a tribute to Dr. Siruno and to carry on his legacy.  Mrs. Siruno, who was a registered nurse, said that she hoped the fund would help prevent families from experiencing the tragedy of major stroke that her family had endured. Working with the Jefferson Cary Foundation, a nonprofit public foundation based at Cary Medical Center, the Siruno family established a permanent endowment that over the past decade has offered annual professional education, community health promotion, health screenings and other initiatives focused on the prevention of stroke. Thanks to this project and the work of other organizations, the incidence of Stroke and Stroke related mortality in Northern Maine is on the decline.  For more information   please contact the Office of Community Relations and Development at Cary Medical Center 207-498-1376 or the Jefferson Cary Foundation 207-493-4849.  Please visit the links on this page to learn more about about the Siruno Stroke Prevention Program.

Top 10 Causes of Stroke

In the INTERSTROKE study, which was the first large study of its kind, Dr. Martin J. O’Donnell of McMaster University and colleagues estimated that of the 10 risk factors collectively responsible for 90 percent of all brain-damaging strokes, hypertension is number one.[1] The INTERSTROKE investigators compared 3,000 patients with a first stroke to 3,000 controls from 22 countries, including people from low and middle income countries. They identified 10 primary causes of stroke.

  • History of hypertension or blood pressure readings >160/90 (51.8 percent)
  • Low regular physical activity (28.5 percent)
  • Elevated waist-to-hip ratio (abdominal obesity) (26.5 percent)
  • Blood lipid level (ratio of ApoB to ApoA1) (24.9 percent)
  • Current smoking (18.9 percent)
  • Poor diet (18.8 percent)
  • Psychological causes—depression (5.2 percent) and stress (4.6 percent)
  • Cardiac causes (history of heart attack, abnormal rhythms, or valve disease) 6.7 percent
  • Diabetes mellitus (5.0 percent)
  • Alcohol intake (more than 30 drinks per month) (3.8 percent)
  • Hypertension Ranks #1 Among the Top 10 Causes of Stroke