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What is Stroke?
A stroke is a cerebrovascular disease that occurs when there is reduced or interrupted blood to the brain, prevent the brain tissues from getting enough nutrients and oxygen. Stroke is a critical medical emergency and it needs a lot of attention.
Although some strokes are preventable and treatable, some can cause disability, fatal health complications, or death.
Without enough oxygen and nutrients to the brain cells, the brain cells will die and in some cases, the affected area suffers permanent damage.
Types of Stroke
- Ischemic stroke
- Hemorrhagic stroke.
Ischemic Stroke
An ischemic stroke happens when blood clots block the supply of blood to the brain cells and vessels. If this blood clot occurs inside an artery, the brain cells don’t get enough blood and nutrients. The artery can be blocked in two different ways; either thrombotic or embolic stroke.
1. Embolic Stroke:
When you get an embolic stroke, the artery is blocked because of debris or a clot travelling in the bloodstream.
2. Thrombotic Stroke:
In a thrombotic stroke, an artery narrows over time because of accumulated calcium in the blood, fat, and cholesterol that builds in your artery walls. The accumulation is called a plaque. When the plaque ruptures, a clot is formed and it prevents blood from flowing to the brain cells downstream.
Hemorrhagic Stroke
The stroke occurs when the wall of a blood vessel in the brain breaks and spills blood into the brain tissues, causing a sudden stop of brain cells. When a blood vessel breaks, it is mainly caused by poorly controlled high blood pressure that weakens an artery wall over time.
Furthermore, blood may leak from an aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation where a vein and an artery fail to connect perfectly.
Symptoms of Stroke
If you or some else may be having a stroke, you have to pay attention to the time all the symptoms start. Early detection can help you get treatment and prevent further damage. Check out the signs and symptoms of stroke below:
Numbness of legs, arms, and face
If you have a stroke, you develop numbness in your arms, legs, and face. This numbness mostly affects one side of your body. If you notice this, try raising both arms over your arm simultaneously. If one begins to fall, that is a sign of a stroke. In some individuals, you will notice one side of the mouth dropping when they try to smile.
Having trouble communicating and understanding things
When you have a stroke, you experience difficulty in understanding speech, giving answers, confusion, and forgetting things fast.
Vision problems
Do you know that high blood pressure can cause stroke? Well, when your blood pressure is high, it can break important blood vessels taking blood and nutrients to your eyes, making it hard to see clearly. If you have a stroke you can experience blurred vision in one or both eyes or see double things.
Headache
When there is not enough blood supply and nutrients in the body, most people experience headaches accompanied by dizziness, vomiting, or altered consciousness.
Trouble walking
Any time you sit down or lay on a surface and when you stand up you lose your balance or stumble, this can be a sign of stroke. Still, you can experience sudden dizziness or lose coordination every time. You should take the right steps if you experience these problems.
Stroke is a medical emergency and the longer it goes before being treated, the more it worsens. It can lead to long-term health problems that will cost you a lot of money, time, or your life. Depending on the diagnosis and treatment speed, you can experience temporary or permanent disabilities.
Causes of Stroke
Stroke is caused by two main causes: a blocked artery or a leaking blood vessel. Some individuals only experience temporary blood flow disruption to the brain, called transient ischemic attack (TIA). This one doesn’t cause lasting symptoms. When an ischemic stroke occurs, blood vessels are blocked or narrowed, causing reduced blood flow.
Blocked blood vessels are caused by fatty deposits that build up in the blood vessels or debris travelling through the bloodstream. Some recent research shows that COVID-19 can be a possible cause of acute ischemic stroke, but more research is needed.
The other cause of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke that occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks. Brain hemorrhages result from multiple conditions that affect blood vessels. Below are the main factors related to hemorrhagic stroke:
- Trauma
- High blood pressure
- Bulges at weak spots in the blood vessel walls
- Overtreatment with anticoagulants
- Protein deposits in blood vessel walls
- Ischemic stroke that leads to hemorrhage
Risk Factors of Stroke
Many factors increase the risk of stroke. The treatable risk factors include:
Lifestyle Risk Factors
- Not being physically active
- Use of illegal drugs such as cocaine and meth
- Being overweight
- Unhealthy eating
Medical Risk Factors
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart defects, heart failure, or abnormal heart rhythm
- COVID-19 infection (more research needed)
- Family history
- Cigarette smoking/second-hand smoke exposure
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
Some other factors that increase the risk of getting a stroke include:
Sex: Men are at a higher risk of stroke than women. Most women get stroke when they are older and only a fewer number die of strokes than men. However, in men, it mostly affects those aged 55 and above.
Age: As I have told you above, men are more likely to get stroke than women. However, it sometimes applies to both genders and it can affect anyone aged 55 years and above. Younger people are less likely to get stroke being they are active not unless they have other health complications.
Hormones: There are some birth control pills or hormone therapies such as estrogen that increase the risk of stroke. Oral contraceptives increase the risk of stroke, but it is small in women who don’t have other stroke risk factors.
Stroke Complications
Stroke causes permanent or temporary health conditions and disabilities. The complications are determined by the area affected and how long the brain lacks enough blood flow. In most cases, those who survive stroke require more attention with moving, talking, and self-care which at times lowers their confidence.
Some of the complications include:
- Finding it difficult to swallow foods and talk
- Loss of muscle movement, especially on one side of the body
- Memory loss that results in poor judgments, difficulty thinking, and reasoning
- Not being able to control emotions and developing depression
- Numbness or pain can occur in the body parts affected by the stroke
- Changes in self-care ability where you have to be helped to do all the daily chores
- There can be changes in how things feel when you touch them
- Poor bowel and bladder control
Luckily, complete recovery is possible because the brain learns to recover from any damage caused. For that to happen, you have to know the cause and take steps towards your recovery.
Prevention
The best steps to prevent stroke are knowing your risk factors, follow the doctor’s recommendations and adopt a healthy lifestyle. If you have a transient ischemic attack or stroke, the measures will help prevent another stroke. Below are the main healthy lifestyle changes you can do to prevent stroke.
1. Quit Tobacco
Smoking deposits a lot of toxic smoke in the bloodstream, making your blood sticky and form clots. Even if you are a second hand smoker, this will raise the risk of stroke. Therefore, you should quit tobacco to be on the safer side.
2. Control High Blood Pressure
This a fatal condition that if not treated, leads to multiple health complications. Controlling your high blood pressure can largely help reduce the risk of getting a stroke or transient ischemic stroke (TIS). Medications and living a healthy lifestyle are the most used to treat high blood pressure.
Related: How to Control High Blood Pressure.
3. Manage Diabetes
Exercise, diet, and losing weight can help the body keep the blood sugar levels maintained. If you change your lifestyle and it doesn’t seem to work, your doctor will advise you to take diabetes medication.
4. Eat a Diet Rich in Vegetables and Fruits
If you take a diet containing fruits and vegetables, you can reduce the risk of stroke.
5. Lower Cholesterol and Saturated Fat in Your Diet
Eating less fat and cholesterol will reduce the build-up in the artery walls. If you are not able to control the cholesterol in your diet, you can take cholesterol-lowering medication but you should seek advice first.
6. Maintain a Balanced Body Weight
Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for multiple health conditions. For your body to function properly, it will need a lot of energy and time to break down the fat in your body. Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
7. Avoid Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse increases the risk of stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Still, alcohol interacts can interact with other drugs you are taking. You should take alcohol in moderation. For instance, you can take one drink a day to prevent the chances of blood clotting.
8. Stay Active
There are many exercises you can take for your body to fight diseases perfectly. One of the best exercises is aerobic exercise. This exercise lowers your blood pressure, keeps cholesterol levels maintained, and improves the health of your heart and blood vessels. For overweight individuals, you can use it to lose weight and reduce stress.
You can also take at least 30 minutes of physical activity, but you should take it in intervals if you are a beginner. You can do jogging, walking, bicycling, swimming, etc.
9. Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This is a sleeping disorder that causes the body to stop breathing for short periods repeatedly. This disorder is caused by poor blood flow to the brain cells and it can easily cause a stroke. If you have this problem, talk to your doctor for medical attention.
Conclusion
Stroke is preventable and treatable if it gets to serious stages. When stroke gets to serious stages, you will waste a lot of money, time, and it can even cost you your life. The best way to avoid it is to live a healthy lifestyle and if you notice any symptoms, getting instant medical attention is important. If you have this disease, we hope our article was helpful.