Symptoms Of A Stroke
Everyday many people suffer a stroke. People that are overweight are at increased risk of stroke and should learn the symptoms of a stroke. The more overweight a person is the greater chance they have of suffering a stroke. This knowledge should motivate a person to reduce excess body fat. In Europe and the United States stroke is the number one cause of adult disability.
An interruption of blood flow to the brain is called a stroke. Strokes are classified in two categories: ischemic and hemorrhagic. When an artery is blocked sufficiently to stop blood flow to the brain it is called an ischemic stroke. There are a number of reasons why a blockage may form. A thrombus, or blood clot, may form on an arterial wall. This is known as a cerebral thrombosis. A blood clot may also travel through the bloodstream, which is called an embolus. When an embolus blocks a cerebral artery it is called a cerebral embolism. 30%-40% of ischemic strokes have no apparent cause and are called cryptogenic.
Stroke can also occur when a diseased artery in the brain suddenly ruptures and floods the surrounding brain tissue with blood. This is a hemorrhagic stroke. This is injurious to the brain in two manners. The hemorrhage first creates a lack of blood flow to the brain. Also, the brain is subject to increased pressure from the blood that now fills the brain. People suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure) and atherosclerosis (arterial plaque accumulation) have the greatest occurrence of hemorrhagic stroke. These conditions are the ones most likely to afflict a person with excess body fat. Injury to the brain and bursting aneurysms are other causes of hemorrhagic stroke. An aneurysm is a pouch containing blood that is found in weak spots of arterial walls.
Many people that suffer an ischemic stroke often have transient ischemic attacks prior to the stroke. 1 of 3 people that experience a transient ischemic attack will have a stroke in the next five years if they do not get treatment. There are two types of transient ischemic attacks. Transient monocular blindness is a blurring, blackout or whiteout of the sight in one eye. Some people describe it as the sense of a shade drawn over one eye. An abrupt weakness or numbness in one side of the face or one arm or leg or difficulty in speaking or comprehension is a transient hemispheral attack.
Thrombolytic drugs are used to save brain cells after a thrombolytic stroke. DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide, can completely reverse the effects of a stroke if used within 90 minutes of the stroke. It is a sad state of affairs that the FDA refuses to approve DMSO for use in humans. Nonetheless, a person should familiarize themselves with the symptoms of a stroke. Because they are unaware of the symptoms of a stroke, most people do not seek help for a stroke for 24 hours or longer.
The acronym FAST can help a person learn the symptoms of a stroke. FAST is the face, arm and speech test. An abrupt loss of strength, movement or numbness in the face, arm or leg is a symptom of a stroke. Difficulty speaking or comprehending speech is another symptom of a stroke. Dimness, loss of vision in one eye, or double vision are other symptoms of a stroke. An easy way to determine if a person is having a stroke is to ask them to stick out their tongue. If the tongue is crooked or goes to one side or the other, the person is having a stroke. If the person does not respond, it would seem as though they are having some sort of medical emergency. Any person that displays a symptom or combination of symptoms should be taken to the hospital immediately.
A person needs to become familiar with risk factors of stroke. Any person that experiences transient ischemic attacks has the greatest risk of having a stroke. Men are at greater risk of stroke than women. Nonetheless, women do have episodes that put them at increased risk of stroke. These episodes are pregnancy, childbirth and menopause.
A person’s ethnicity is another factor in ascertaining a person’s risk of stroke. Caucasians have a much lower risk of stroke than Blacks or Hispanics. With every decade after a person reaches 55, their risk of stroke doubles. Hypertension drastically raises a person’s chance of experiencing a stroke. High levels of low density lipoproteins, or LDL, also increases the risk of stroke.
Type II diabetes greatly enhances the risk of stroke. Type II diabetes is typically alleviated with a satisfactory drop in body fat percentage.
The knowledge of the symptoms of a stroke can greatly increase the odds that a person suffering from a stroke will get the help they need in a timely manner.
