What Is A Stroke?

 What is a Stroke | Diagnosing Stroke | Location of Stroke | Effects of Stroke | Spasticity

A stroke is a kind of brain injury that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or a vessel bursts. How a stroke affects a person depends on the part of the brain in which the injury occurs. After a stroke, a person may have a weakness on one side of the body or trouble with moving, talking or thinking.

Stroke is a major health problem in the United States. It ranks right behind heart disease and cancer as the third leading cause of death and is a major cause of long-term disability.

Hypertension medication and stroke
Between 40 and 90 percent of all stroke patients had high blood pressure before their stroke. Hypertension puts stress on blood vessel walls. This can lead to stroke from clots or bleeding.

In 1993, the U.S. stroke mortality rate increased for the first time in 40 years. The National Stroke Association has suggested that the recent rise in stroke deaths can be attributed to increasing "noncompliance" to high blood pressure medication.

In plain English, this means that failure to take needed medications to control high blood pressure may be contributing to stroke.

What does this mean for you if you have high blood pressure? Take all of the medications that your doctor recommends when you are supposed to take them. Controlling your blood pressure is just one of many things you can do to prevent stroke. Many people assume that strokes can't be prevented. This is not true. There is a lot you can do to reduce your risk of stroke.

Stroke statistics
-Someone suffers a stroke every 53 seconds
-About 600,000 Americans suffer strokes every year
-Stroke costs the U.S. about $30 billion each year.

Types of stroke

Ischemic stroke
An ischemic stroke occurs when an artery supplying the brain with blood becomes blocked,suddenly decreasing or stopping blood flow to the brain. Eighty percent of all strokes fall into this category.
The blockage is often caused by fatty deposits in the blood vessel walls. If you have these fatty deposits, which include cholesterol you have a condition called atherosclerosis. You can help prevent stroke by managing cholesterol.

Atherosclerosis can cause two kinds of blockages. One kind of blockage is a cerebral thrombosis which is when a blood clot forms at the clogged portion of a blood vessel. It can grow large enough to block blood flow.
Another kind of blockage is a cerebral embolism. This is when a blood clot forms somewhere else in the body, often the arteries of the chest and neck. A bit of the clot breaks off and moves to the brain.
Another cause of these strokes is atrial fibrillation. That's when clots form in the heart, break off and move to the brain.

Hemorrhagic stroke
These strokes account for the remaining 20 percent of strokes. When an artery in the brain bursts, blood flows into surrounding tissue and neurons in the brain are upset.
One common cause of such a hemorrhage is an aneurysm, a weak spot on an artery wall. These spots tend to stretch and they can rupture causing damage to the brain.
High blood pressure combined with cholesterol can contribute to hemorrhage. An artery encrusted with plaque from cholesterol becomes brittle and prone to cracks. Hypertension increases the risk that a brittle wall will give way and release blood into surrounding tissue.

managing high blood pressure and Managing cholesterol are two ways you can reduce your risk of stroke.

Mini strokes
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is often called a mini stroke. These start just like a full-blown stroke but then resolve themselves leaving no symptoms after an hour.

One-third of the 50,000 Americans who have a TIA every year will go on to have an acute stroke during the future. A TIA is a warning that must be taken seriously. As it is happening, there is no way to tell whether symptoms will be a TIA or lead to a more serious stroke. All stroke symptoms signal an emergency whether they go away or not. TIAs can be treated with medication or surgery.

If you think you have had a TIA in the past, see your doctor and get help in preventing a future stroke.

Symptoms of stroke
Symptoms of stroke appear suddenly and can include:
-Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side.
-Sudden confusion, trouble talking or understanding speech.
-Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
-Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination.
-Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

The most important thing you can do if you or someone you are with has these symptoms is call 911 emergency immediately.

Now there are effective medications that can be given for stroke at a hospital, but they must be given soon after the stroke. Every minute counts. In order for doctors to give clot-busting drugs that dissolve the blockages causing 80 percent of all strokes, treatment must be given within three hours.

Sources for this report include the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Consumer Guide No. #16 AHQR pub. no. 95-0664 US Agency For Healthcare Research and Quality.

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