Many people have had, without even knowing it most of the time, what’s called mini strokes. These can drastically influence many cognitive skills; but more seriously, be an indicator of a big stroke coming up.

Japanese researchers have developed a simple, 20-second test, to see if you’re at risk of a big stroke or have unknowingly suffered mini-strokes.

The best part: you can do this test right now. It doesn’t require any tools or test kits. And it’s absolutely free.

Researchers at the Center for Genomic Medicine at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have discovered that a person’s ability or inability to perform a Warrior III yoga pose for 20 seconds is an accurate indicator of risk of stroke.

The Warrior III is a pose whereby a person stands on one leg, bends at the waist, and splays the arms out at the side, essentially making a “T” with the body.

In the study involving more than 1,400 men and women, the participants were scanned using an MRI to assess their mini-stroke history. Then, they were told to plant one foot and stand in the Warrior III position for 20 seconds.

Participants who had trouble standing on one foot with the arms out for the whole 20 seconds were shown to have a much higher rate of having had mini-strokes already.

The participants were also rated on their memory and cognitive skills. Those, too, were found to be lower in participants who had already had strokes.

The smaller stroke events commonly referred to as mini-strokes can have an impact on balance, coordination, language, and memory that are too small to notice at the time of the event.

However, changes in a person’s ability to perform certain tasks over time can be used, as with this balance test, to assess for risk before more expensive and riskier tests might be needed.

Strokes, even the small ones, can increase a person’s risk of developing dementia and also of suffering a larger stroke event in the future, so eliminating the risk is the goal for doctors determining stroke risk.

Whether or not you passed the test, keeping your cardiovascular health in tip-top shape is essential.

The most important thing to do is to make sure your blood pressure is under 120/80. Nothing contributes to stroke and heart attack like high blood pressure.

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