I was born in Houston, Texas, and have fond memories of going to the Astrodome in the 1980s with my grandfather to watch the Astros play baseball. They knew that orange was the new black way before Netflix existed, as did their fans. This year, needless to say, I excitedly cheered them on this year’s impassioned team during the World Series, and while they ended short during game 7, man – what a fun journey. Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a hard-earned victory, and to my Astros on a fantastic season!

As I have watched games this year with my baseball-enthused fiancĂ© (who became my husband on October 12th, thus my new last name!), I began reminiscing on World Series from years past. In particular, I remember watching the Atlanta Braves (the popular team in my area as I was growing up in South Carolina) take on the Minnesota Twins. It was another seven game wild ride, with the Twins as the victors ultimately in game 7. I could not go away disappointed, though, because over the course of the Series I grew to like the Twins. In particular, a player named Kirby Puckett captured my attention. Fans in the stands held up signs that read: “Puckett Will Park It.” When he retired from baseball in 1996, his batting average was the highest of any right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio. He was strong, enthusiastic, and brought his A game when it mattered. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 2001 (his first year of eligibility).

After reminiscing about Kirby Puckett’s years in baseball, I asked my at-the-time fiancĂ©, “Whatever happened to Kirby Puckett?”

He replied: “He died a while back.”

Whoa! Say what?

When I took to the internet to figure out what happened to Kirby Puckett, I learned that he died from a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 44, thought to be due to high blood pressure. His health had declined after leaving baseball, and stroke did not have mercy on him simply because of his relatively young age. He was the second youngest baseball player inducted into the hall of fame while still living (Lou Gehrig being the youngest). Having been an elite athlete earlier in life was not enough to save him from the devastating effects of stroke or the diseases that increase the risk for it.

For those of you with hypertension (high blood pressure), I implore you to follow up regularly with your healthcare providers. High blood pressure may not “hurt” in most cases, but unfortunately the first real symptom of it can be a stroke, heart attack, kidney failuure. Hypertension is the number one modifiable risk factor for stroke (meaning – the top condition leading to stroke that we can actually do something about; age is the top risk factor, but nobody has figured out how to stop the clock yet).

High blood pressure is not to be ignored, and it is not to be taken lightly.