Stroke Symptoms & Treatments

Stroke:

A stroke occurs when the arterial blood flow leading to or in the brain becomes blocked or ruptures.
Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain, so when the blood flow stops, the cells begin to die. As a result, the functions of the body controlled by the nerve cells can lose their ability to function.

Causes and Risk Factors of Stroke:

There are two broad categories of strokes, called ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke.

Ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage of a blood vessel in the brain or neck. This stroke can stem from three different conditions: thrombosis, embolism or stenosis:

Thrombosis (cerebral thrombosis) is the formation of a clot within a blood vessel of the brain or neck and is usually caused by atherosclerotic plaque build-up.
Embolism (cerebral embolism) is the movement of a clot from another part of body to the brain or neck. These clots can form on artificial valves in the heart, on atherosclerotic plaques in aorta or caused from a condition called atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat whereby the upper chamber of the heart quivers rapidly rather than beats. Because this quivering motion is not forceful enough to send all the blood to the heart’s lower chambers, the blood pools, thus allowing clots to develop.

Stenosis is a severe narrowing of an artery in or leading to the brain. Roughly 2/3 of all strokes are caused by clots.
Hemorrhagic stroke is the bleeding into the brain or the spaces surrounding the brain which is caused by a number of disorders that affect the blood vessels (i.e., high blood pressure and cerebral aneurysm). There are two types of hemorrhagic stroke: subarachnoid and intracerebral.

ubarachnoid hemorrhage is caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the surface of the brain so that blood fills the space between the brain and the skull.
An intracerebral hemorrhage is caused by the rupture of a blood vessel within the brain itself.
Some factors that increase the risk of stroke are genetically determined, others are simply a function of natural processes, and still others result from a person’s lifestyle. The factors resulting from heredity or natural processes can’t be changed, but those that are environmental can be modified with a doctor’s help.

There are five uncontrollable risk factors:

1. Age – your chances of having a stroke go up as you get older. Two-thirds of all strokes happen to people over age 65. Your stroke risk doubles with each decade past age 55.
2. Sex – males have a slightly higher risk than females.
3. Race – American blacks have a higher stroke risk than most other racial groups.
4. Family history of diabetes.
5. Family history of stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack).

There are two basic controllable risk factors:

1. Treatable medical disorders – includes diabetes, atrial fibrillation, heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, carotid artery disease, heart disease, personal history of stroke or TIA and patent foramen ovale (PFO). PFO is an abnormal opening between the right and left sides of the heart.
2. Lifestyle factors – includes smoking, drinking too much, obesity, drug abuse (especially cocaine), physical inactivity and low estrogen.

Symptoms of Stroke:

• Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm and leg on one side of the body.
• Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech.
• Dimness or loss of vision, particularly in only one eye.
• Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls.

Stroke Treatments:

Treating a stroke depends on where the stroke occurred in your brain and whether it’s ischemic or hemorrhagic. The doctor may use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, computed tomography (CT) imaging or angiography (injecting dye through a catheter inserted into the suspected blocked blood vessel and taking x-rays of the vessels) to determine the stroke type and location.

Prevention of Stroke:

Strokes may be prevented by lowering your blood pressure, quitting smoking, beginning or increasing exercise, controlling medical problems with medications (i.e., atrial fibrillation requires anticoagulants), maintaining optimal weight, and eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables.
If you have a blocked carotid artery your doctor may suggest a carotid endarterectomy to remove the fatty deposits.