Hebrew News – Stroke: all the preliminary signs you must know

2023-04-11 03:00:21

Stroke: all the preliminary signs you must know

A series of health factors increase the risk of having a stroke, including age, high blood pressure and smoking. How does it happen, what types of stroke are there, and most importantly – what are the alarming signs that must turn on a red light for you?

A stroke, or cerebrovascular accident, is a medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to the brain is impaired. As a result, nerve cells and other cells in the brain die, and the functions they took part in are affected – for example, the ability to speak or exercise muscles. This is a life-threatening and very common event, when according to the publications of the World Health Organization it was the second most common cause of death in the world in 2019, after heart attacks.

At the top of the factors that increase the risk of having a stroke is age – the incidence of stroke events increases significantly from the age of 55 and over. Other risk factors are high blood pressure, smoking – which increases the likelihood of blockage of blood vessels, extreme alcohol consumption – which causes, among other things, an increase in blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases.

There are two main types of stroke: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke, the most common of which – 90 percent of all stroke cases – is the ischemic stroke, which occurs when one of the arteries in the brain is blocked and stops supplying blood containing oxygen to parts of the brain. Such a blockage can result from a blood clot or the accumulation of fatty deposits in the artery.

warning signs

The symptoms most associated with a stroke are weakness or partial paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face, which sometimes leads to a crooked smile or the inability to smile at all; weakness in the hands, to the point of losing the ability to lift one or both hands; and difficulties in speaking and understanding.

Usually only one side is affected by the stroke, and the loss of muscle control will focus on one side only. Prominent symptoms that may occur during a stroke are sudden blurring of vision, confusion or memory loss.

In any case where there is a fear of a stroke, it is important to bring the patient to a hospital without delay to enable a quick diagnosis and, if necessary, life-saving treatment. Immediate treatment is also important to stop further damage to the brain cells and reduce the damage to the victim’s functioning.

diagnosis

When a stroke is suspected, several tests are done at the hospital to diagnose the patient’s condition. In addition to collecting general indicators such as measuring blood pressure and checking cholesterol and blood sugar levels, it is customary to perform a water ingestion test. 30-78 percent of stroke victims suffer from impaired swallowing ability.

If there is indeed a real fear of a stroke, the patient is urgently sent for imaging scans of the brain, designed to detect blockages of blood vessels or bleeding, to determine which areas of the brain were damaged and the extent of the damage.

There are other tests that can help doctors trace the source of the stroke. For example, an ultrasound test allows you to check if there is a narrowing or blockage in the blood vessels in the neck that carry blood to the brain.

Treatment and prevention

There are immediate treatments that can ease the patient’s condition and deal with the stroke before it gets worse. It is essential to accurately diagnose the type of stroke, because each of them requires a different treatment.

In the case of an ischemic stroke, it is customary to first use drug therapy to dissolve blood clots, to open the blockage that has formed in the blood vessels in the brain and prevent the development of new blood clots. The anticoagulants, popularly known as “blood thinners,” can increase the risk of bleeding, so they can make things worse if they are used to treat a person with a hemorrhagic stroke.

Another, more invasive treatment is catheterization of the blocked blood vessel, to break up the blockage or pull it out. Brain catheterization done within two hours of the initial injury significantly increases the chances of recovery and its speed.

To stop a hemorrhagic stroke, it is customary to use drugs to lower blood pressure, to weaken the bleeding and allow the rupture in the damaged blood vessel to heal. If necessary, there is also the option of surgery designed to stop the local bleeding. Such surgery can include removing the problematic blood vessel in the brain, blocking the leaking blood with a thin mesh, or “pinching” the leaking part of the blood vessel in order to prevent further bleeding.

Even after the stroke has passed, precautions must be taken. A quarter of the people who have experienced one stroke will experience another stroke within a year, so proper care must be taken to prevent its recurrence. After an ischemic stroke, it is customary to take drugs to prevent blood clots and to prevent the accumulation of platelets, since the platelets are used to form blood clots to stop bleeding. On the other hand, the same drugs increase the risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke.

Also, to lower the chance of stroke recurrence, the patient must adjust his lifestyle according to the stroke risk factors relevant to him. For example, if the stroke may have been caused by a high level of cholesterol in the blood, it is advisable to switch to a low-cholesterol diet and take cholesterol-lowering drugs.

rehabilitation

Next, the nature of the rehabilitation of the stroke victim and the improvement of his function and quality of life must be considered, since the ability of the brain to recover from the damage it has already suffered is very limited, and many times long-term damage remains in the ability to speak, walk, control muscles and clarity of thought. Coping can be improved with the help of means such as speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. Research in this field tries to test the most effective ways for maximum rehabilitation of the injury, with methods such as electrical stimulation, walking exercises, tai chi and more. Over time, therapists harness the knowledge gathered to offer more meaningful treatments that allow persistence over a long period of time.

In conclusion, a stroke is a life-threatening condition, which we have a lot to learn about the ways of dealing with it and its consequences. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which includes regular physical activity as well as a balanced Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of having a stroke. It is very important to know the typical symptoms of a stroke, so that we can provide victims with immediate medical assistance and prevent unnecessary damage.

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