What is Stroke?

Stroke is one of the deadliest diseases in the world currently. It occurs when part of the brain loses its blood supply and suddenly stops working, so the part of the body that the bloodless and inactive brain controls will also stop working. Stroke also is known as a brain attack or cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

Stroke can also occur when the blood supply to any part of the brain is reduced or interrupted. It also occurs when the brain tissue is hindered from getting oxygen and other nature needed to function correctly. When this happens, the brain cell will begin to die immediately since there is no proper blood flow.

Stroke is one of the diseases that kill quickly. That is why it is imperative to treat stroke immediately because early action will reduce the brain damages and other parts of the body that are affected.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the age-adjusted mortality rate for 2017 was 37.6 after 100,000 stroke diagnoses.

American Doctors have made huge progress by managing stroke’s mortality rate, and it is 13.6% lower than it was in 2007.

Types of Stroke

There are three major types of stroke, and they are Ischemic, hemorrhagic, and transient ischemic attack (TIA) stroke.

Ischemic Stroke

Ischemic stroke is a kind of stroke where part of the brain loses blood flow, and it will cause another part of the body where the brain’s control also boosts control and stop working completely.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

Hemorrhagic stroke is yet another sort of stroke. It occurs where there is bleeding within the part of the brain. So any part of the body where the bleeding part of the brain is controlling will stop working immediately.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is the last and the third major type of stroke. It occurs when the blood flow to some parts of the brain is inadequate for some period of time. Before normal blood flow and circulation begin to flow after a short time of shortage flowing. This type of stroke does not need any treatment because the part of the body we started working on after a short time of not working.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is also known as mini-stroke because it happens within a short time, and everything gets back to normal without treatment.

Causes of Stroke

There are numerous causes of stroke, but in this article, I will mention the major causes of stroke. Basically, each and every type of stroke comes with different causes. Stroke affects those people who are;

• Those who are overweight or obese regardless of their gender
• Those who have a family history of stroke
• Those who have heart disease
• Those who have high cholesterol
• Those who are 50 years and above
• Regular smokers
• Those who use illicit drugs
• Those who consume alcohol excessively.

But the major causes of strokes are the blockage of the artery, which is known as the bursting of a blood vessel or ischemic stroke or simply called a hemorrhagic stroke.

Why other people have temporal the structure of blood flow in their brain which is known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a mini-stroke, which does not last for a long period of time aside from that, it does not need any treatment before all the part of the brain and body that are affected started working back.

Several studies show that females have a lower risk of death from stroke than males. But, one 2016 review of studies shows that the differences, and the review explain that the risk of stroke mortality may increase due to age and demographics, the differences between females and males.

Risk Factors

There are numerous risk factors of stroke, both lifestyle and medical risks. In this article, I will mention the most common risk factor of stroke boat lifestyle and medical risk factors.

• Overweight or obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Heavy alcohol drinking
• Regular consumption of illegal drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, and others.
• Diabetes
• Regular smokers
• High Cholesterol
• Transient ischemic attack
• High blood pressure
• Heart attack
• Heart disease
• Family history of stroke
• Cardiovascular disease; usually experienced as heart attack, heart failure, heart infection, or abnormal heart rhythm.

Symptoms of Stroke

Symptoms of stroke are solely dependent on the type of stroke and also the part of the brain that has stopped working because of loss of blood supply or inadequate blood flow.

Over the years, stroke patients have these common symptoms, which include;

• Double vision
• Difficulty with balance and vertigo
• Partial vision loss
• Changes in consciousness or confusion
• Weakness or paralysis of the body or half part of the body, which may be one leg or hand and sometimes both hand and leg.
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Difficulty hearing speech
• Difficulty in walking or standing
• Loss of balance
• Loss of coordination dizziness
• Endless headache without a cause

Stroke is one of the diseases that need quick and emergency medical attention. If you experience any of these symptoms or your family or friends, you need to call the nearest clinic for medical help so that things won’t get worst.

Quick medical treatment will prevent the following;

• Long-term disability
• Brain damage
• Death

That is why it is very important to call medical attention immediately when you experience any of these symptoms of stroke so that it will reduce the pain and damages of stroke.

Stroke Symptoms in Men

Stroke affects both men and women, and the symptoms are the same, but there are some stroke symptoms that occur more often among men more than women.

• Drooping on one side of the face.
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty speaking, and trouble understanding
• other speech
• Arm weakness or muscle weakness
• Weakness of major part of the body

Stroke Symptoms in Woman

Stroke affects both men and women, and the symptoms are the same, but there are some stroke symptoms that occur more often among women more than men.

• Vomiting
• Hallucination
• Endless pain
• Weakness of major part of the body
• Shortness of breath or general breathing problem
• Fainting or losing consciousness
• Lack of responsiveness
• Sudden behavioral changes, mostly increased agitation.

What Are Diagnosis and Treatment of Stroke

Stroke treatment fully dependent on the type of stroke, although stroke symptoms can be different from one another.

That is why it is very important to do the F- A-S-T test, which is the fastest and easiest method.

• Face: Do you usually experience sagging on one part of your face when you smile?
• Arms: You need to raise both and see if one or both droops.
• Speech: Say a common word to check if you sound strange or slurred?
• Time: Call emergency medical attention immediately if you notice any of these symptoms.

Your doctor may ask you to do

• Do a physical exam
• Listen to your heart
• Take your blood test, as well as your blood count, clotting time, and more.
• Check weak parts of your body
• Check and test your vision or speech.
• Imaging Tests, which include, Echocardiogram, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computerized tomography (CT), and others.

Treatment for Ischemic Stroke

Your doctor can put you on a clot-busting drug that is called tPA in your arm within 3 hours of the stroke, although you can get the tPA within 4.5 hours after the stroke depends on the situation.

Your doctor can also remove the clot immediately after you arrive at the hospital. They will thread a device called a stent up the artery so that it will take it out with a suction tube or grab the clot.

Treatments for Hemorrhagic Stroke

The major cause of Hemorrhagic stroke is high and uncontrolled blood pressure, so the first thing your doctor will do is how to lower the blood pressure within a short period of time.

But, if an Aneurysm is the cause of your stroke, then your doctor needs to clamp the broken vessel closed or thread a tiny coil because it will help to keep the blood vessel from bursting.

How Can Stroke Be Prevented

Stroke is a preventable disease. There is numerous way you can prevent stroke, there are several methods of preventing stroke, but these are the most effective method of preventing stroke regardless of your gender or age.

• Reduce your weight.
• Treat high blood pressure.
• Treat diabetes.
• Stop taking alcohol and hard drugs.
• Regular exercise
• Lowering the level of cholesterol by eating the food that comes with zero or lower cholesterol levels.
• Increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other food that comes with several health benefits, especially natural foods.
• Reduce consumption or stop eating fast food and manufactured food because these foods come with several side effects. One of the most popular effects is that it will increase your weight within a short time, and it will increase your risk of several diseases, which include stroke.

In Conclusion

Now you know what stroke is, how you can prevent this deadly disease, symptoms, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and other important information that you need to know about stroke.

Stroke is a preventable and treatable disease. You need to get quick medical attention immediately you experience any of the symptoms of shock. This will help and lower the effect and pain of stroke.

Millions of people across the world die because of the slow treatment of stroke. It is also important to take your drug regularly and obey your instruction, especially when it’s regular exercise and all the important instructions that you need to follow.