What is stroke?
Stroke is commonly known as “brain attack”. A stroke occurs when blood cannot flow to your brain because of blood clots or narrowed blood vessels. A stroke can also be caused by bleeding inside the brain. During a stroke, the brain tissue cannot receive oxygen and nutrients and as a result, the brain cells begin to die within minutes of a stroke. Stroke survivors suffer from serious problems such as loss of movement, loss of sensation, loss of vision and difficulty walking. In more severe cases, stroke can even cause death.
Signs and symptoms of stroke
- Paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg.
You may feel sudden numbness, weakness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg on one side of your body. You may also observe that one side of your mouth may droop. - Difficulty speaking and understanding.
Your words may become slurred, and you may have difficulty understanding speech when people are talking to you. - Headache.
You may also experience a sudden, severe headache, along with vomiting, dizziness or altered consciousness. - Problems seeing in one or both eyes.
Your vision may suddenly become blurred or blackened in one or both eyes. You may also see double. - Trouble walking.
You may find it difficult to walk. You may stumble or lose your balance or coordination.
Types and causes of stroke
There are two main types of strokes: 1) ischemic stroke caused by a blocked artery or 2) haemorrhagic stroke caused by a leaking or ruptured blood vessels. Some people may not have a stroke but a transient ischemic attack that involves a temporary disruption of blood supply to the brain that does not cause lasting symptoms.
Ischaemic stroke
Ischaemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. It occurs when there is reduced blood flow(ischemia) to the brain tissues because of narrowing or blockage of the brain's blood vessels. Blood vessels can become blocked or narrowed when fatty deposits build up in blood vessels or when blood clots or other debris travel through your bloodstream and gets lodged in the blood vessels in your brain.
Haemorrhaegic stroke
Haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in your brain leaks or ruptures. Brain haemorrhages can result from many conditions that affect your blood vessels. Some of these factors could include: kinks at weak spots in your blood vessel walls (aneurysms), uuncontrolled high blood pressure and oovertreatment with blood thinners (anticoagulants).
Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is sometimes referred to as a ministroke. The symptoms may be similar to stroke but may be temporary. A TIA causes reduced blood flow temporarily by a clot or debris and may last as as little as five minutes.
Risk factors
Many factors can increase your stroke risk, some of which can be potentially treated. These include:
Medical risk factors
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Cardiovascular disease, including heart failure or abnormal heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation
• Personal or family history of stroke, heart attack or transient ischemic attack
• Cigarette smoking or second-hand smoke exposure
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• COVID-19 infection
Lifestyle risk factors
• Physical inactivity
• Being overweight or obese
• Excessive alcohol consumption
Other factors that are associated with a higher risk of stroke include:
• Age — People age 55 years or older have a higher risk of stroke as compared to younger people.
• Sex — Men have a higher risk of stroke than women. Women are usually older when they have strokes, and they're more likely to die of strokes as compared to men.
• Hormones — Use of birth control pills or hormone therapies that include estrogen increases risk.
Complications
A stroke can sometimes cause disabilities. These can be temporary or permanent, depending on how long the blood supply to the brain tissue was interrupted and which part of the brain was was affected. Some of the complications may include:
• Paralysis or loss of muscle movement. You may become paralysed on one side of your body or may lose control of some muscles on one side of your face, one arm or one leg.
• Loss of sensation. You may lose sensory perception on one side of your body. For example, you may lose the ability to touch and you may not be able to feel the surface texture of commonly used objects.
• Difficulty talking or swallowing. A stroke might affect control of the muscles in your mouth and throat, making it difficult for you to talk clearly, swallow or eat. You also may have difficulty with language, including speaking or understanding speech, reading, or writing.
• Difficulty thinking or memory loss. Stroke survivors often experience some memory loss. Some may have difficulty understanding concepts, thinking, reasoning and making sound judgments.
• Emotional problems. Stroke survivors may have more difficulty controlling their emotions. They may feel fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness, and a feeling of grief over physical and mental losses. They also may develop clinical depression, like a sense of hopelessness that disturbs their ability to function.
• Pain. Pain, numbness or altered sensations may occur in the parts of the body affected by stroke. For example, after stroke, you may experience shoulder pain in the affected arm. You may also experience tingling or prickling in a paralyzed or weakened limb.
• Loss of bladder and bowel control and loss of mobility to reach a toilet in time. Permanent incontinence after a stroke is uncommon.
• Changes in behavior and self-care ability. People who have had strokes may become more quiet and not communicate as much as before. They may need help with grooming, personal hygiene and daily chores.