Stroke

Overview

A stroke isn't an illness, but rather the result of the blockage or bursting of blood vessels in the brain. When the blood vessel is blocked, oxygen can't get to certain parts of the brain and those parts will start to die within minutes, resulting in stroke.

Types

There are two different types of stroke:

• Ischemic: This occurs when a clot blocks a vessel in the brain. Ischemic is the most common type of stroke that occurs in older people.

• Hemorrhagic: This is a stroke caused by a leaking artery in the brain or an artery that bursts in the brain. Hemorrhagic strokes are more rare than ischemic, but are more deadly because of the possibility of bleeding in the brain and the damage that it may cause.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of a stroke include:

• Vision problems with a sudden onset, like double vision, blurry vision, dimmed vision and full or partial blindness in one or both eyes.

• A sudden numbness or weakness, usually centered on one side of the body.

• Full paralysis of the arm, leg, face or the full body can occur during a stroke.

• Slurred speech or other unintelligible speech.

• Dizziness or unsteadiness that hits suddenly, with difficulty and even the inability to balance or walk.

• A sudden and severe headache.

• Confusion and inability to understand what's going on and what people are saying.

Causes/Risk Factors

Hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, alcohol use and obesity are all risk factors for having a stroke. There is no way to predict who will suffer from stroke.  People over 55 years old, and particularly men with a family history of stroke, are at an increased risk.

Tests/Diagnosis

When the symptoms of a stroke are present you can go for a CT scan. This scan will show the doctor if there is bleeding in the brain from a hemorrhagic stroke. It's important to determine the type of stroke quickly because a hemorrhagic stroke can be deadly, but if medication for an ischemic stroke is given to someone with bleeding in the brain, the condition will become much worse. Other tests like functional MR imaging (fMRI) can help determine where in the brain the clot has formed or lodged that lets you take the best course of treatment.

Treatment

In the case of an ischemic stroke, the objective is to restore blood flow to the brain by removing the clot. Treatment within three hours of the onset of symptoms often consists of medication to dissolve the clot, which is particularly effective if it's given within 90 minutes of the beginning of the stroke.

Surgery can be used to remove the clot or to repair the damage from a hemorrhagic stroke and to restore blood flow to the brain. These emergency measures must be done soon after the onset of a stroke to save as much brain tissue as possible. In the case of a hemorrhagic stroke, measures must be taken to save the person's life.