What is Stroke?

A stroke, also known as a brain attack, occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted. This deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients, causing damage to the brain cells. Strokes can be caused by a blocked artery (ischemic stroke) or a bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). About 80% are ischemic strokes and about 20% are hemorrhagic strokes.

Stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. The interruption can be caused by a blocked artery, a broken blood vessel or a blood clot.

The brain requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to function normally. When there is a loss of blood flow or the supply of oxygen to the brain, damage occurs.

The effects of stroke depend on which area of the brain was affected and how much damage occurred. Some people recover with no lasting effects; others may have lifelong disabilities.

What are the Symptoms of Stroke?

A stroke happens when oxygen-rich blood flow to part of your brain is cut off by a blocked artery or blood clot. This deprives the brain of oxygen and causes damage to the area of the brain that can lead to lasting problems. Strokes are also called cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs) or intracranial hemorrhages.

Stroke symptoms include:

• Sudden weakness or numbness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body. This may be only one side of your face and tongue, which could make it difficult to talk or swallow.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding others’ speech, unusual behavior and vision loss in one or both eyes; sometimes there’s loss of balance.
• Sudden headache with no known cause.
• Numbness or tingling in the face, arm or leg on one side of the body
• Weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty understanding speech
• Vision changes such as double vision, blurred vision, trouble seeing in one eye, trouble seeing out of both eyes
• Loss of balance or coordination

Who Are at Risk for Stroke?

Anyone can have a stroke. But certain people are more likely to have one than others:

People who have high blood pressure (hypertension). About 90 percent of strokes are linked to high blood pressure, also called hypertension. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and heart attacks. It also increases the risk for stroke by forcing more blood into smaller arteries in your brain and increasing your chances of having a clot that could interrupt blood flow to your brain.

If you already have diabetes or poor circulation because of peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation outside your heart), your risk of stroke increases even more with high blood pressure because these conditions make it harder for your heart to pump enough blood through your body’s vessels.

People who smoke cigarettes. Smoking makes it harder for your arteries to work properly, which puts you at greater risk for heart attack or stroke — especially if you have diabetes or high cholesterol levels (LDL).

Stroke risk factors include:

Age — The risk of stroke increases as you get older. The average age of people who have a stroke is 72 years old, but strokes can happen at any age.

Diseases — Diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease increase your risk of having a stroke. These conditions are more common among people who are older than 45 years old and African Americans than other groups in the population.

Family history — If you have a family member who had a stroke before age 55 or has other heart or blood vessel problems, your chances of having a stroke are higher than those without this family history.

Medical conditions — Medical conditions such as migraines with aura, pregnancy complications, sickle cell disease and lupus can put you at higher risk of having a stroke.

Smoking — Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of blood clots in the brain that may lead to a stroke.

What are the treatments for Stroke?

There are several treatments that can help prevent stroke or lessen its effects. The treatment options depend on how severe your stroke is, how quickly it occurred, and whether you’ve had a previous stroke.

Stroke Treatment Options

Treatment for stroke depends on what caused it. You may need one or more of these treatments:

Medications to thin your blood or prevent blood clots from forming

Blood thinners (anticoagulants) — These medications help prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries. Blood thinners include warfarin (Coumadin) and aspirin (Bayer).

Anticoagulants work by blocking clotting agents called platelets from sticking together and forming a clot that can block blood flow to an area of your brain or neck. This helps prevent a second stroke from occurring while still allowing some clotting to protect against internal bleeding within an injured brain cell.

Antithrombotics also prevent clots from breaking off and traveling through the bloodstream to block another part of the body’s circulation system.

How to avoid Stroke?

The best way to prevent a stroke is to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Treating these conditions can reduce your risk. You also can lower your risk of stroke by not smoking and limiting how much alcohol you drink.

If you are at risk for stroke, you must take the following precautions:

• Eat a healthy diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for men and one drink per week for women.
• Don’t smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco or snuff.
• Control high blood pressure.