A Stroke is a medical condition which occurs when there’s a blockage or decrease in the blood supply to the brain.
A person experiencing a stroke needs immediate emergency treatment. Early action and treatment can reduce brain damage and other complications.
What is Stroke?
A stroke occurs when there is condition of blockage or bleeding of the blood vessels which either interrupt or decrease the supply of the blood to the brain.
When this happens, the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients. Oxygen-deprived brain cells begin to die within minutes.
Strokes is a cerebrovascular disease. This means that it affects the blood vessels that feed oxygen to the brain.
This is a medical emergency. If left untreated, a stroke can lead to long-term disability or death.
Causes
There are mainly two causes of stroke: ischemic stroke (a blocked artery) or hemorrhagic stroke (leaking or bursting of a blood vessel). Some people may have only a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain, known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA). TIA doesn’t cause long lasting symptoms.
- Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. It happens when the brain’s blood vessels become narrowed or blocked by a blood clot, preventing blood and oxygen from reaching an area of brain.
- Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in your brain leaks or ruptures. Hemorrhagic stroke can cause from many conditions:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Trauma (such as bike accident)
- Bulges at weak spots in your blood vessel walls (aneurysms)
- Transient ischemic attack (TIA) occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is inadequate for a brief period of time. It is also commonly called a ministroke, is a temporary period of symptoms similar to those you’d have in a stroke. TIA doesn’t cause permanent damage.
Symptoms
The symptoms of a stroke may appears without any warning. Stroke symptoms typically start suddenly, over second to minutes.
Some of the main symptoms includes:
- Paralysis or Numbness or weakness in the arm, face, and leg, particularly on one side of the body.
- Trouble speaking and understanding speech
- Confusion
- Headache
- Trouble Walking
- Vision problem in one or both eyes
- Dizziness and loss of balance or coordination
Some people may also experience:
- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
- Nausea or vomiting
- Depression
A mnemonic to remember the warning signs of stroke is FAST. FAST stands for:
- Face dropping: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face drop?
- Arm Weakness: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Or is unable to rise?
- Speech difficulty: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is his or her speech slurred or strange?
- Time to act: If any of these symptoms are occurring, contact the emergency services immediately.
Risk Factors
Many factors can increase stroke risk. Potential risk factors include:
- Lifestyle risk factors
- Overweight or obese
- Use of illegal drugs such as cocaine
- Physical inactivity
- Heavy drinking
- Cigarette smoking
Medical risk factors
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Personal or family history of stroke
- Cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, heart infection etc.
Other risk Factors include:
- Sex: Men have a higher risk of risk of stroke than women. But women are more likely to die of strokes than men.
- Race: African-American have a higher risk of stroke than people of other races.
- Age: People aged 55 or older have higher risk of stroke
Prevention
The best way to prevent a stroke is to address the underlying causes. One can achieve this by:
Eating a nutritious diet such as:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Legumes
Making lifestyle changes such as:
- Exercising regularly
- Avoiding smoking tobacco and alcohol
- Eating healthy diet and lowering the amount of cholesterol and saturated fat in your diet
- Maintaining healthy weight
- Treating obstructive sleep apnoea
- Avoiding illegal drugs
- Controlling high blood pressure
- Regular Checkups.
The best way to protect yourself or other from stroke is to be able to spot a stroke early and get help, and seek medical attention as soon any of the symptoms are suspected.
