DEFINITION
A stroke is a condition in which the brain cells suddenly die because of a lack of oxygen. This can be caused by an obstruction in the blood flow, or the rupture of an artery that feeds the brain. The patient may suddenly lose the ability to speak, there may be memory problems, or one side of the body can become paralyzed.TYPES OF STROKE
.jpg)
SYMPTOMS
Watch for these signs and symptoms if you think you or someone else may be having a stroke. Note when your signs and symptoms begin, because the length of time they have been present may guide your treatment decisions.
- Trouble with walking. You may stumble or experience sudden dizziness, loss of balance or loss of coordination.
- Trouble with speaking and understanding. You may experience confusion. You may slur your words or have difficulty understanding speech.
- Paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg. You may develop sudden numbness, weakness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg, especially on one side of your body. Try to raise both your arms over your head at the same time. If one arm begins to fall, you may be having a stroke. Similarly, one side of your mouth may droop when you try to smile.
- Trouble with seeing in one or both eyes. You may suddenly have blurred or blackened vision in one or both eyes, or you may see double.
- Headache. A sudden, severe headache, which may be accompanied by vomiting, dizziness or altered consciousness, may indicate you're having a stroke.
When to see a doctor
Seek immediate medical attention if you notice any signs or symptoms of a stroke, even if they seem to fluctuate or disappear. Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Every minute counts. Don't wait to see if symptoms go away. The longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the potential for brain damage and disability. To maximize the effectiveness of evaluation and treatment, you'll need to be treated at a hospital within three hours after your first symptoms appeared. If you're with someone you suspect is having a stroke, watch the person carefully while waiting for emergency assistance.
Seek immediate medical attention if you notice any signs or symptoms of a stroke, even if they seem to fluctuate or disappear. Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Every minute counts. Don't wait to see if symptoms go away. The longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the potential for brain damage and disability. To maximize the effectiveness of evaluation and treatment, you'll need to be treated at a hospital within three hours after your first symptoms appeared. If you're with someone you suspect is having a stroke, watch the person carefully while waiting for emergency assistance.
CAUSES
Ischemic strokes are ultimately caused by a thrombus or embolus that blocks blood flow to the brain. Blood clots (thrombus clots) usually occur in areas of the arteries that have been damaged by atherosclerosis from a buildup of plaques. Embolus type blood clots are often caused by atrial fibrillation - an irregular pattern of heart beat that leads to blood clot formation and poor blood flow.
Hemorrhage strokes can be caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure, a head injury, oraneurysms. High blood pressure is the most common cause of cerebral hemorrhage, as it causes small arteries inside the brain to burst. This deprives brain cells of blood and dangerously increases pressure on the brain.
Aneurysms - abnormal blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the wall of an artery - are the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. If an aneurysm ruptures, blood spills into the space between the surfaces of the brain and skull, and blood vessels in the brain may spasm. Aneurysms are often caused or made worse by high blood pressure.
A less common from of hemorrhage stroke is when an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) ruptures. AVM is an abnormal tangle of thin-walled blood vessels that is present at birth.
A study found that migraines increase stroke risk during pregnancy.
Hemorrhage strokes can be caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure, a head injury, oraneurysms. High blood pressure is the most common cause of cerebral hemorrhage, as it causes small arteries inside the brain to burst. This deprives brain cells of blood and dangerously increases pressure on the brain.
Aneurysms - abnormal blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the wall of an artery - are the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. If an aneurysm ruptures, blood spills into the space between the surfaces of the brain and skull, and blood vessels in the brain may spasm. Aneurysms are often caused or made worse by high blood pressure.
A less common from of hemorrhage stroke is when an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) ruptures. AVM is an abnormal tangle of thin-walled blood vessels that is present at birth.
A study found that migraines increase stroke risk during pregnancy.
RISK FACTORS
Many factors can increase your risk of a stroke. A number of these factors can also increase your chances of having a heart attack. Stroke risk factors include:
Potentially treatable risk factors
- High blood pressure — risk of stroke begins to increase at blood pressure readings higher than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Your doctor will help you decide on a target blood pressure based on your age, whether you have diabetes and other factors.
- Cigarette smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.
- High cholesterol — a total cholesterol level above 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 5.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L).
- Diabetes.
- Being overweight or obese.
- Physical inactivity.
- Obstructive sleep apnea (a sleep disorder in which the oxygen level intermittently drops during the night).
- Cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, heart defects, heart infection or abnormal heart rhythm.
- Use of some birth control pills or hormone therapies that include estrogen.
- Heavy or binge drinking.
- Use of illicit drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines.
Other risk factors
- Personal or family history of stroke, heart attack or TIA.
- Being age 55 or older.
- Race — African-Americans have higher risk of stroke than people of other races.
- Gender — Men have a higher risk of stroke than women. Women are usually older when they have strokes, and they are more likely to die of strokes than men.
DIAGNOSIS
A stroke is a medical emergency, and anyone suspected of having a stroke should be taken to a hospital immediately so that tests can be run and the correct treatment can be provided as quickly as possible.
Physicians have several tools available to screen for stroke risk and diagnose an active stroke. These include:
Physicians have several tools available to screen for stroke risk and diagnose an active stroke. These include:
- Physical assessment - blood pressure tests and blood tests to see cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and amino acid levels
- Ultrasound - a wand waved over the carotid arteries in the neck can provide a picture that indicates any narrowing or clotting
- Arteriography - a catheter is inserted into the arteries to inject a dye that can be picked up by X-rays
- Computerized tomography (CT) scan - a scanning device that creates a 3-D image that can show aneurysms, bleeding, or abnormal vessels within the brain
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - a magnetic field generates a 3-D view of the brain to see tissue damaged by stroke
- CT and MRI with angiography - scans that are aided by a dye that is injected into the blood vessels in order to provide clearer and more detailed images
- Echocardiography - an ultrasound that makes images of the heart to check for embolus
- Eye-movement analyzer may diagnose stroke - researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore created a device that can help diagnose stroke by expertly analyzing eye movements. They reported their findings in the journal Stroke. The electronic device is a small, portable, video-oculography machine. It detects eye movements that most doctors find hard to notice.
TREATMENT
The primary goal in treating ischemic stroke is to restore blood flow to the brain. This will be attempted using blood clot-busting drugs such as aspirin, heparin, or tissue plasminogen activators that must be administered within three hours of the stroke. In addition, surgical procedures may be performed that can open up or widen arteries. These include carotid endarterectomy (removal of plaque and widening of the carotid artery) and angioplasty (a balloon that widens the cartoid artery and is held open with a metallic mesh tube called a stent).
A study found that cholesterol lowering drugs can prevent stroke recurrence.
Hemorrhagic stroke is treated differently than ischmic stroke. Surgical methods used to treat this stroke variant include aneurysm clipping, aneurysm embolisation, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) removal. Aneurysm clipping consists of a small clamp placed at the base of the aneurysm that isolates it from the circulation of it's attached artery and keeps the aneurysm from bursting or re-bleeding. Aneurysm embolisation (coiling) uses a catheter inserted into the aneurysm to deposit a tiny coil that coil fills the aneurysm, causing clotting and sealing off the aneurysm off from arteries. AVM removal is a surgical procedure to remove usually smaller AVMs or AMVs that are in more accessible portion of the brain in order to eliminate the risk of rupture.
US researchers found that patients who had experienced strokes as long as six months earlier were able to regain brain function through the help of a novel robotic device that they squeezed with their hand.
Most stroke victims will require rehabilitation after the event. A person's condition is generally dependent on the area of the brain and the amount of tissue that was damaged. It is common for the rehabilitation process to include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and family education.
A study carried out by researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago found that Tai Chi helped stroke victims regain balance.
A new study has found that the short window of time to treat stroke pa
tients can be expanded.
A stroke patient was intravenously injected with his own bone marrow stem cells as part of a research trial at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
Oxford University researchers say they now know how the human brain protects itself from damage during and after a stroke. In the journal Nature Medicine, they explained how the protein hamartin helped rats' brain cells that were being starved of oxygen and glucose survive.
Astrocytes may repair brain damage from stroke - stem cell researchers from UC Davis in California explained in Nature Communications that astrocytes, neural cells that form the blood-brain barrier, may help limit the spread of damage after ischemic stroke. They may also help regenerate and repair damaged nerve cells.
A study found that cholesterol lowering drugs can prevent stroke recurrence.
Hemorrhagic stroke is treated differently than ischmic stroke. Surgical methods used to treat this stroke variant include aneurysm clipping, aneurysm embolisation, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) removal. Aneurysm clipping consists of a small clamp placed at the base of the aneurysm that isolates it from the circulation of it's attached artery and keeps the aneurysm from bursting or re-bleeding. Aneurysm embolisation (coiling) uses a catheter inserted into the aneurysm to deposit a tiny coil that coil fills the aneurysm, causing clotting and sealing off the aneurysm off from arteries. AVM removal is a surgical procedure to remove usually smaller AVMs or AMVs that are in more accessible portion of the brain in order to eliminate the risk of rupture.
US researchers found that patients who had experienced strokes as long as six months earlier were able to regain brain function through the help of a novel robotic device that they squeezed with their hand.
Most stroke victims will require rehabilitation after the event. A person's condition is generally dependent on the area of the brain and the amount of tissue that was damaged. It is common for the rehabilitation process to include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and family education.
A study carried out by researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago found that Tai Chi helped stroke victims regain balance.
A new study has found that the short window of time to treat stroke pa
A stroke patient was intravenously injected with his own bone marrow stem cells as part of a research trial at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
Oxford University researchers say they now know how the human brain protects itself from damage during and after a stroke. In the journal Nature Medicine, they explained how the protein hamartin helped rats' brain cells that were being starved of oxygen and glucose survive.
Astrocytes may repair brain damage from stroke - stem cell researchers from UC Davis in California explained in Nature Communications that astrocytes, neural cells that form the blood-brain barrier, may help limit the spread of damage after ischemic stroke. They may also help regenerate and repair damaged nerve cells.
PREVENTION
One way to prevent a stroke is to notice a transient ischemic attack (TIA) - or mini stroke - that provides symptoms similar to stroke. Knowing the symptoms of stroke can lead to earlier treatment and better recovery.
Much of stroke prevention is based on living a healthy lifestyle. This includes:
Much of stroke prevention is based on living a healthy lifestyle. This includes:
- Knowing and controlling blood pressure
- Finding out if you have atrial fibrillation
- Not smoking
- Lowering cholesterol, sodium, and fat intake
- Following a healthy diet. If you eat plenty of tomatoes, your risk of developing stroke could be reduced significantly. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. In a study published in Neurology, October 2012, researchers found that people with high blood concentrations of lycopene had a 59% lower risk of stroke compared to those with the lowest concentrations.
- Drinking alcohol only in moderation
- Treating diabetes properly
- Exercising regularly. Moderate aerobic fitness can reduce stroke risk, a study found.
- Managing stress
- Not using drugs
- A study found that drinking three cups of tea per day reduces the risk of stroke
- Taking preventive medications such as anti-platelet and anticoagulant drugs to prevent blood clots
- Cholesterol lowering drugs can prevent stroke recurrence
- Walking for at least 210 minutes each week was found to reduce the risk of stroke in women, compared to those who did not do much physical activity, researchers from the Murcia Regional Health Authority, Spain, reported in the journal Stroke (January 2013 issue). The same benefit was not found among men.
#you can take a quiz from this link#
have fun :) http://www.medicinenet.com/stroke_quiz/quiz.htm
*reference from the link :
No comments:
Post a Comment