Information About Stroke
A stroke or a threat of it is not something you can ignore. It is a
medical emergency. It can cause severe paralysis or worse, death.
Stroke occurs when there is abnormality in the stroke patients
brains blood supply. When the blood supply is either too little or too
much, this could damage brain cells or brains tissues. The brain cells
could die within minutes. This is why it is very important that people
who suffer from stroke are given immediate or prompt medical treatment.
Although the damage could be irreparable, it could still be minimized
with immediate treatment.
Stroke in the United States
In the United States, the number of deaths caused by stroke is
alarming. People who survive stroke are often left disabled. Stroke, in
fact, is the third leading cause of death next to cancer and heart
diseases.
Recent study shows though that there is an improvement in the number of reported stroke association
cases. Fewer Americans are dying from stroke and this can be credited
to the fact that Americans are now more conscious of their health.
Also, treatment for high blood pressure and high cholesterol are now
readily available.
How Stroke Occurs
To understand
what causes stroke, you would also have to know the two kinds of
strokes. These are the ischemic stroke and the hemorrhagic stroke. Both
of these are life threatening; and although symptoms are the same,
people may experience different sets of symptoms.
The cause of these strokes differs as well. There are actually two causes of stroke. These include:
a. Artery blockage. This is the common cause of ischemic stroke. This
is the kind of stroke that occurs when there is blockage or artery
caused by clogging, hardening and embolism.
b. Artery rupture.
This is also known as haemorrhage. This results to hemorrhagic stroke.
Rupture of brain arteries is typically caused by cerebral haemorrhaging
or subarachnoid haemorrhaging; this eventually results to hemorrhagic
stroke.
Summarizing Facts about Stroke
A stroke is
devastating both to the person who suffered it and his loved ones.
There are many things that you should know about stroke; but to
summarize it, here are the basic facts that you should know about
stroke:
a. Stroke is caused by damaged brain cells or dead
brain cells. The absence of oxygen in the brain due to brain
haemorrhage or artery blockages is the cause of the death of brain
cells.
b. Any person exhibiting symptoms of stroke or TIA must be given immediate or prompt stroke care or intervention.
c. It is important that people should learn the common symptoms of an
impending stroke. These symptoms may include numbness of arms, face or
leg; weakness, vision problems, slurred speech or inability to speak,
trouble walking or problem with balance, severe headache with unknown
cause, among others.
d. Stroke is confirmed through brain scan.
e. It is easier to prevent stroke than to treat it. It is advisable,
therefore, that you adopt all measures to minimize the risk of stroke
especially if you a family history of it.