A friend of my mothers just had a stroke, so this weekend on the phone, she was asking about strokes. She is a prime candidate for a stroke since she had uncontrolled very high blood pressure for a number of years. It certainly does not hurt any of us, either for ourselves or family and friends, to be reminded about strokes once in a while.

A stroke is when an area of the brain becomes short of oxygen due to either a blocked blood vessel or a blood vessel bursting.

There are now many doctors who will use the term brain attack rather than stroke. This is for two main reasons. First, a stroke and a heart attack are very similar. Both involve interrupted blood flow to an area of the organ and if blood flow is not quickly restored there will be damage and death in the area of the interrupted blood flow. Many people do not know what a stroke is, but do know what a heart attack is, and get more of an idea of the brain being being damaged. Second, the term attack has urgency associated with it. A brain attack sounds more urgent and important than a stroke. This is vital since the faster treatment starts, usually the better the outcome.

There are two main types of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic.

Ischemia (pronounced isk-ee-mee-i-a) is the reduction or loss of blood flow to an area of an organ. This is most commonly due to a blockage of a blood vessel by a clot (thrombus) that has either formed locally, or has come form elsewhere in the body. Ischemic stroke is also known as cerebral infarction. This type of stroke is the most common, accounting for more than 80%.

A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when there is bleeding within the skull. This will happen when a blood vessel ruptures. The blood may accumulate and put pressure on part of the brain, and part of the brain may have a reduced blood flow and become short of oxygen.

Prompt medical attention will reduce the amount damage done, whatever the cause.

Very short episodes of a stroke are called Transient ischemic attacks or TIAs. These are short strokes that then resolve. Often they are called mini strokes. A better name is warning strokes. A TIA is a warning. They often indicate that a major stroke is coming. A TIA should not be ignored.

The symptoms for strokes are very variable. That makes sense, since they can occur anywhere in the brain. Depending on where the damage is located and size, different body functions will be affected. However, one common factor is that the onset of the symptoms is swift.

The most common possible symptoms include one, or more of the following

Sudden numbness somewhere in the body, especially if it is only on one side
Sudden confusion, problems talking, problems understanding
Sudden problems with walking, dizziness, balance or coordination
Sudden trouble seeing with one or both eyes
Sudden severe headache

If you, or anybody you are with, gets sudden symptoms that might possibly be a stroke call an ambulance immediately. Do not try and decide if it is a stoke, get help as fast as possible.

Get more information at http://www.strokeassociation.org/

photo credit: otisarchives1

[tags]brain attack, stroke, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, TIA{/tags]