DEWAR – HYPERTENSION, MEAL PREP, HEALTH SWAPS. These are a few stroke prevention terms to find at the Stroke Awareness Month Bingo event series. Mvskoke citizens enjoyed a game of bingo at the series stop at the Dewar Indian Community on Tuesday, May 12. The series, hosted by the Muscogee Nation Department of Health Stroke Prevention Program, provides tips for healthy living and stroke prevention while having fun.
Nurse Navigator Angela King routinely tends to patients who are at high risk for strokes and heart attacks. She teaches patients how to reduce their health risks by monitoring their blood pressure. At each bingo event, participants had the opportunity to have their blood pressure taken. If a test indicates high blood pressure, the individual can schedule an appointment through the stroke patient program. According to King, blood pressure is one of the most important factors to monitor for prevention.
“High blood pressure happens to be the number one controllable risk factor that we have for strokes,” King said. “It’s important to get it checked more often in order to prevent a stroke. Those are little things we can do because strokes are 80% preventable.”
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, a healthy blood pressure for most adults is 120/80 mm Hg. Those with a blood pressure reading of 130/80 mm Hg or higher have high blood pressure. Over 119 million Americans have high blood pressure. A 2025 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that 23.1% of the American Indian/Alaskan Native population has high blood pressure.
“It’s not really bingo, it’s just education. They have the opportunity to win some extra prizes. They’re not winning money or anything like that. They have the opportunity to ask questions and get their blood pressures checked.”
Stroke prevention techniques are not hard to incorporate into a daily routine. MCN Health recommends avoiding nicotine, stretching for 10 minutes three times a week, and engaging in thirty minutes of daily physical activity. Dietary changes include eating five fruits and five vegetables a day and limiting added sugar intake to less than 25-36 grams per day. Getting a full night’s rest, seven to nine hours for most adults, can also reduce the probability of strokes.
Mvskoke citizen Pat Watson found the stroke prevention information helpful. She learned ways to lower cholesterol and ease back pain.
“I eat cheese all the time. That’s a high cholesterol product. Stretching your back or straightening your back. Leaning back and stretching your neck and back will make it feel better,” Watson said.
Strokes are one of the top five leading causes of death in the U.S. Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke. Every 3-14 minutes, someone dies of a stroke. Both King and Watson have had family members who have had strokes.
King stressed the importance of learning F.A.S.T: Face dropping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911. These are the signs of a stroke. The acronym was found on koozies and cards handed out at the bingo event.
“When we think we’re having a stroke or someone else we know is having a stroke, we’re not thinking our clearest,” King said. “Reinforcing that information (on stroke prevention) can help us pop it back out there when we are actually in a time of need.”
The full list of remaining bingo events is below.
May 18
1:30 PM–3:00 PM
Holdenville Indian Community Center
224 E. Poplar St. | Holdenville, OK
May 19
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Okmulgee Indian Community Center
2900 N. Osage Pl. | Okmulgee, OK
May 20
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Eufaula Indian Community Center
800 Birkes Rd. | Eufaula, OK
May 26
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Koweta Indian Community Center
30901 E. 141st St. S. | Coweta, OK
May 27
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Glenpool Indian Community Center
14023 S. Casper | Glenpool, OK
May 28
1:00-3:00 p.m.
College of the Muscogee Nation
2170 Raven Circle, STEM Building | Okmulgee, OK
