Stroke 101-the facts
Getting the facts
Someone in the US suffers from a new or recurrent stroke every 45 seconds.
Fewer than one in five Americans can identify one stroke symptom.
During a stroke, 32,000 brain cells die every second which means that in 59 seconds, over 1.9 million brain cells will die if the victim is left untreated.
About 700,000 Americans will have a new or recurrent stroke this year alone and over 163,000 will die, placing stroke the third leading cause of death in the US.
There are approximately 266,000 stroke survivors with permanent disabilities.
There are over 4 million stroke survivors today.
The economic impact of disabilities and deaths as a result of stroke is estimated to cost $40-$70 billion per year.
Stroke: The Inner Workings
What Is It? What Can It Do?
What’s a Stroke?
“A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or bursts. Without blood and oxygen it carries, part of the brain starts to die. The part of the body controlled by the damaged area of the brain can’t work properly. Brain damage can occur within minutes.”
Courtesy of WebMD
The damaged area of the brain is unable to function, leading to:
1) Inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body
2) Inability to understand or formulate speech
3) Inability to see one side of the visual field
What Causes a Stroke?
The main cause of a stroke is a blood clot. A blood clot is caused by “hardening of the arteries, atrial fibrillation, infection of heart valve, blood-clotting disorders, and inflammation of blood vessels (WebMD).” Although high blood pressure was also cited as an important risk factor for stroke, low blood pressure can be just as damaging; “Low blood pressure results in reduced blood flow to the brain and may develop as a result of narrowed or diseased arteries, a heart attack, a large loss of blood, or a severe infection” (WebMD).
Bleeding inside the brain, usually causing a hemorrhagic stroke, is also another important cause for stroke. According to WebMD, “Bleeding inside the brain may be a result of long-standing high blood pressure.”
Causes of Stroke: Image 1
Signs of stroke
Warning Symptoms
Stroke Warning Signs (Courtesy of the American Heart Association)
The American Stroke Association wants you to learn the warning signs of stroke:
-
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
-
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
-
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
-
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
-
Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
Be prepared for an emergency.
-
Find out which area hospitals are primary stroke centers that have 24-hour emergency stroke care.
-
Know (in advance) which hospital or medical facility is nearest your home or office.
-
Keep a list of emergency rescue service numbers next to the telephone and in your pocket, wallet or purse.
-
Take action in an emergency.
-
Not all the warning signs occur in every stroke. Don't ignore signs of stroke, even if they go away!
-
Check the time. When did the first warning sign or symptom start? You'll be asked this important question later.
-
If you have one or more stroke symptoms that last more than a few minutes, don't delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical service (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can quickly be sent for you.
-
If you're with someone who may be having stroke symptoms, immediately call 9-1-1 or the EMS. Expect the person to protest — denial is common. Don't take "no" for an answer. Insist on taking prompt action.
-
Prevent Stroke
Taking the First Step
Important Tips
- Control your blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk for stroke by as much as six times. Because high blood pressure has no symptoms, you can't gauge your pressure by the way you feel. You must have it checked and treated with medication, if necessary.
- Don't smoke. Smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to suffer a stroke, because of the effects of nicotine and carbon monoxide. Smoking and using oral contraceptives increases the risk for stroke even more.
- Reduce your alcohol intake. Too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure, which increases your risk for stroke. Alcohol also can lead to obesity and raise triglyceride levels. Men should have no more than two drinks a day; women, one.
- Eat a healthy diet. Limit your intake of high-fat and high-cholesterol foods. Too much cholesterol in your bloodstream can cause a buildup of plaque in your blood vessels that can block blood flow to your brain, causing a stroke. It also can put you at risk for heart disease, a strong risk factor for stroke.
- Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Doing so can reduce your risk.
- Exercise regularly. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days. This can help lower your blood pressure and your risk for heart disease, both of which are risk factors for stroke.
Courtesy of Revolution Health
More Stroke Prevention Info
Stroke Prevention Info (Courtesy of NINDS)
Contact
STROKE UNITED
Search site
Warnings of Stroke
A sudden severe headache
Trouble with coordination or walking
Difficulty speaking or difficulty in seeing
Sudden weakness or numbness in one side of the body
Preventative Steps to Follow
-Drink alcohol in moderation
-Keep tabs on blood pressure
-Eating a low fat diet is equally important.
-Keep a check on circulation problems.
-Take adequate measures to control diabetes.
-Make exercise an integral part of your daily routine.
-Go for a cholesterol check.
-Stop Smoking.
-Focus on a low-salt diet.
*Courtesy of Bertil Hjert
Stroke Terms
Source: www.speech-therapy-on-video.com
Aneurysm: The swelling or ballooning of a weakened area of an artery wall in the brain. The vessel wall may become so thin and stretched that it bursts causing bleeding into the brain.
Apraxia: In the absence of muscle weakness or paralysis, a disturbance in purposely planning and performing muscle movements. Generally, apraxia causes a disruption between thought and action.
Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries): A condition characterized by thickening and hardening of the inner lining of artery walls. The presence of fatty deposits (called plaques), may lead to a narrowing of the artery and may eventually block the artery completely.
Artherosclerotic Plaque: cholesterol and calcium deposits on the wall of the inside of the heart or artery.
Atrial Fibrillation: This is a kind of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). It can cause a blood clot to form in the heart which can shear off and travel to the brain.
Auditory Processing: The ability to hear auditory messages, distinguish between similar sounds or words, separate relevant speech from background noise, and the ability to recall and comprehend what was heard.
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA): This can be considered the "medical term" for a stroke. A CVA occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted. As a result, brain cells lose their oxygen supply causing some cells to die and leaving other cells damaged.
Cognition: The ability to think, reason, and remember.
Diagnosis: The process of identifying a disease or disorder through evaluation, examination, recording patient history, and review of the completed data.
Diseased Arteries: Blockage of the arteries is usually the result of artherosclerosis, shrinking and narrowing of the artery walls with a mixture of cholesterol and other debris, known as atheroma.
Dysarthria: a weakness of the muscles involved in speech production, such as the tongue, lips, and jaw
Dysphagia: Difficulty with swallowing food or liquids due to problems in nerve or muscle control.
Dysprosody: difficulties with the timing, stress, and melody of speech.
Embolism: a blood clot that forms somewhere in the body, breaks loose, travels through the blood vessels, and clings to the wall of a blood vessel in the brain.
Executive Functioning: The brain's ability to process feedback, interpret events, and react appropriately to life's ups and downs.
People who demonstrate problems with executive functioning have difficulty planning out their day, organizing their time properly, reacting in a suitable manner, or adapting to situations when things aren't working.
Expressive Aphasia: Also known as, Broca's aphasia. An individual with expressive aphasia will usually be able to comprehend spoken or written language, but their own speech and/or writing is impaired.
Expressive Skills: The ability to convey thoughts and ideas through spoken or written language.
Global Aphasia: The most severe characteristics of both, expressive aphasia and receptive aphasia. There is an almost total reduction of all aspects of speech, written language, and comprehension.
Hemiparysis: a muscle weakness on one side of the body.
Hemipeligia: a muscle paralysis on one side of the body.
Hemorrhage: A loss of blood from damaged blood vessels. A hemorrhage may be internal or external, and usually involves a dramatic and sudden loss of blood.
Infarct: Tissue death resulting from insufficient blood supply to the area.
Intensive Therapy: A treatment plan that includes a challenging routine of therapeutic activities used to bring about higher degrees of recovery.
Language Therapy: This is a branch of speech therapy (therapy for improving the act of speaking).
Language therapy centers on:
-
vocabulary
-
word associations
-
organizing thoughts and ideas clearly
-
correct syntax or word order
-
understanding the intended meaning of messages
-
and social language skills
Occupational Therapy (OT): Treatment that helps people return to ordinary tasks around home and at work.
Occupational therapists help patients by improving functional skills related to coordination of movement, fine motor skills, and self-help skills (such as dressing, bathing, and self-feeding). It may include the use of assistive devices to maximize physical potential.
Oral Apraxia: The inability to carry out planned oral movements that do not involve speech (like smiling or chewing).
Oral-Motor Therapy: The use of specialized exercises designed to improve and maintain the strength and coordination of the tongue, lip, and jaw muscles.
Physical Therapy (PT): The use of exercises and physical activities to help condition muscles and restore strength and movement.
Physical therapists will help patients regain functional abilities in walking, getting in/out of bed, strength, balance, gross motor skills, and endurance. It may also include the use of assistive devices to maximize physical potential.
Pragmatics: Pragmatics refers to how we use and interpret language. If you consider language a tool for communicating effectively, how we use that tool will result in different outcomes.
Body language, intonation, speech volume, word stress, staying on topic, choosing "appropriate" language for a given situation, and even using comparisons and visual images to illustrate a point are all tools for communicating - also known as, pragmatics.
Prognosis: The anticipated outcome of a disease or disorder; the likelihood of recovery or recurrence.
Receptive Aphasia: Also known as Wernicke's aphasia, this language disorder is characterized by fluent speech (although it typically has limited meaning), in conjunction with an inability to understand spoken or written language.
Receptive Skills: The ability to understand spoken or written language.
Site of Lesion: The precise location where damage has occurred.
Speech Therapy: The diagnosis and treatment of speech disorders. Treatment includes specific exercises designed to improve speech skills, language skills, and oral motor skills.
Spontaneous Recovery: This occurs as damage to body tissues heals on its own. This type of recovery occurs without rehabilitation.
Thrombosis: A blood clot occurring in a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): A temporary reduction in oxygen supply to the brain. It can cause brief symptoms such as dizziness, slurred speech and weakness or numbness on one side of the body. However, it is sometimes undiagnosed.
With TIA's the oxygen supply to the brain is restored quickly which normally resolves symptoms completely. It can be a warning sign for a future, more serious, stroke.
Verbal Apraxia: In the absence of muscle weakness or paralysis, a disturbance in the ability to plan and carry out oral muscle movements for speech.