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Stroke: definition, causes, symptoms and treatment

Stroke: definition, causes, symptoms and treatment

February 27, 2024

Stroke is known by many other names: stroke, stroke, stroke or cerebral infarction ; and is feared by anyone, regardless of how it is labeled.

The cause of this fear is that the effects of a stroke can be fatal for the person, going from the onset of any type of disability to death. To get an idea, strokes are the third cause of death in the western part of the world.

That is why it is so extremely important to know what they are and what their first symptoms are, in order to avoid any major evil in the person.

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what is a stroke? Definition

A stroke consists of the interruption of blood flow to the brain due to a blocked or broken blood vessel . This suspension of blood supply to the brain causes the neurons not to receive enough oxygen and begin to die.


If we take into account that the brain is responsible for the functioning of everything that the person does: walk, think, talk, move, and even breathe, this can end with some kind of disability; causing permanent damage to the brain or even death if the stroke is not detected in time.

Two types of stroke can be differentiated:

1. Ischemic effusion

Due to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the arterial vessels that inject blood into the brain preventing the passage of this. Other times, This pause in blood flow is caused by a blood clot with a larger size than usual .


2. Hemorrhagic effusion

In this type of stroke the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain, and the consequent spilling of blood through it, causes intracranial hemorrhage It can also affect the membranes that surround the brain and the meninges.

Causes and risk factors

There are three main reasons that cause stroke:

1. Obstruction of the arteries by a clot or by hardening : prone in people with arteriosclerosis, diabetes, high cholesterol levels or hypertension.

2. Obstruction due to a cerebral embolism: in this type of accident a blood clot , belonging to any area of ​​the body, travels through it until it meets a narrow artery where it gets stuck.

3. Intracranial hemorrhage caused by rupture , rupture due to hardening or congestion of blood vessels, also called aneurysm, or hypertension.


Although many of these causes are associated with various diseases with risk of stroke, there are risk factors, some of them avoidable, so that a person apparently healthy can suffer any of the types of stroke.

Unalterable risk factors

These risk factors are impossible to control or modify by the person. These are:

  • Genetics : if there is a family history of stroke, this person may be more likely to suffer one.
  • Age : Older people are more prone to suffer a stroke.
  • Sex : Men are generally more likely than women to suffer one of these strokes.
  • Being born with a more fragile heart as usual or have an altered heart rate.
  • First months after pregnancy : women who have just given birth may be more likely to have a stroke after the first few months.

Controllable risk factors

However, there are other elements that also influence when suffering a cardiovascular incident but that can be modified or controlled:

  • Physical inactivity: physical exercise in a habitual way decreases the probability of spillage
  • High cholesterol levels: the possibility of suffering a stroke increases when blood cholesterol levels exceed 240 mg / dL
  • Obesity
  • Anxiety or stress
  • Tobacco

symptom

The bad reputation and fear of strokes comes, in addition to the consequences that this can have, because in many cases the symptoms appear suddenly, reaching the person not to perceive any of them and therefore not give mind that you are having a stroke.

The symptoms that usually warn of a stroke are:

  • Severe headache without apparent cause
  • Confusion and difficulties in speech
  • Loss of vision in one or both eyes
  • Numbness or weakness in the face, arms and legs (especially on only one side of the body)
  • Vertigo, dizziness and loss of balance or coordination

FAST stroke test

However, there is a protocol for the rapid detection of a stroke.This protocol called FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) is vital to the possibility of detecting a spill and save life, with only the appearance of one of them causing alarm.

The test consists of observing a series of milestones:

1. Face : if the person can only move one side of the face, it is a sign of a spill. For this the person is asked to smile and it is observed if both sides are equal or not.

2. arms : The person is asked to raise their arms, in the case of only being able to lift one, or feel difficulties in the other, it is another sign.

3. Speaks : Ask the person to say their first and last names, their address or simply to repeat a sentence, if they do not coordinate the words or do it very slowly it is considered a sign of a spill.

4. Weather : Whether you meet the three signs or only meet one is vitally important to contact emergency services to intervene as soon as possible, since after the first hour since the onset of symptoms the damage may be irreversible.

Diagnosis

For a correct diagnosis of stroke It is necessary to identify what type of spill is, how to determine the location and the cause .

During the first step to identify the type of effusion, clinical professionals can resort to a computerized axial tomography (CT) of the head or a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

Next, there are different tests and techniques to get the rest of the information about the spill. For example:

  • Blood test
  • Electrocardiograms (ECG)
  • Brain angiography
  • Ultrasound of the carotid or Doppler ultrasound.

Treatment

As mentioned earlier, a stroke requires emergency treatment, which can reduce the likelihood of disability and even save the patient's life.

The choice of treatment will depend on the type of stroke, but in either case the priority is to restore blood flow when it is an ischemic stroke, and to reduce cerebral pressure if it is hemorrhagic.

In the event that the cause of the effusion is a blood clot, and this is detected during the first hours after the start of the effusion, the patient is given a clot-reducing drug, which will dilute the clot and promote the flow of blood. blood in the injured area.

In addition to this emergency treatment, there are two more types of treatment to contain the effects of strokes :

1. Intracranial vascular systems

Endovascular interventions are used to increase blood flow in veins and arteries of the brain. This treatment involves the introduction of a catheter along the blood vessels to the brain. Once there the catheter can leave different elements:

  • Drugs to dissolve the mass of blood
  • Aspiration systems or mechanized removers
  • Balls and stents, used to keep the vessels open
  • Metal coils repairing aneurysms

2. Surgery

Through the use of surgery the medical professional can stir the blood spilled around the brain, as well as amend those broken blood vessels.

After a stroke, most people need to attend rehabilitation in order to regain the functions that may have been affected by the stroke. As well as reeducation of the patient to eliminate those risk factors that could facilitate the appearance of a second effusion.


Stroke Signs, Symptoms Treatment | Dr. Reza Jahan - UCLA Health (February 2024).


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