Know about Stroke and Its Warning Sign

When there is an interruption or sudden reduced blood supply to the brain, it leads to Stroke, which is a leading cause for many deaths. The reduced or interrupted blood supply to the brain occurs due to the blocked/ruptured blood vessels that ban the oxygen and nutrient feed to the brain. When brain cells begin to die, emergency medical treatment shall be given to the patient to avoid potential complications.

The major risk factors for stroke are

• High blood pressure.
• Diabetes.
• Heart diseases.
• Smoking.
• Risk of stroke increases as you get older and men are more likely than women to have strokes.
• Those who already had stroke are at higher risk for another one and one with the family history of stroke.
• Brain aneurysms.
• Alcohol and other drugs
• Lack of physical activity
• Overweight and Obesity
• Stress and depression

 Symptoms of Stroke   

• sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• sudden trouble seeing.
• sudden trouble speaking or understanding
• sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

Types of Stroke

Hemorrhagic stroke: This occurs when an artery in the brain bursts and leads to localized bleeding in the surrounding cells and tissues which kill the brain cells.

Ischemic stroke: It occurs when an artery to the brain is blocked. The neurons (brain cells) will not be able to pump the oxygen required for survival. This causes death of cells.

Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs)/Mini-Stroke: When the blood flow to the brain is stopped for a short period of time, it is called a TIA. It might mimic stroke symptoms and lasts for 24 hours. Though it will never cause permanent brain damage, TIA is an alert for occurrence of stroke in future and hence, should never be ignored.

Treatment for Stroke

Treatment for strokes differs from one kind to the other. The treatment methodology might include medication and surgical intervention with recovery and rehabilitation.

Hemorrhagic stroke treatments encompass controlling bleeding and pressure inside the brain. Generally, medicines are prescribed to lower pressure and prevent seizures. Once the bleeding stops, the stagnated blood is absorbed with a supportive medical care.

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a minimally invasive advanced surgery which repairs and corrects vascular malformations. To prevent aneurysms from bursting or re-bleeding, surgical clipping is done on the artery to stop blood flow.

Ischemic stroke treatment involves restoring blood flow to the brain. Clot-busting drugs are prescribed to dissolve the blood clots. A catheter with a small device is inserted into the brain to break up or grab the blood clot manually.

Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)/Mini Strokes are treated with antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants. If the patient has moderate or severe narrowed carotid artery, the surgeon will perform carotid endarterectomy to clear fat deposits in the carotid arteries. It prevents TIA from relapsing.

Dr. Shyam Sundar K is a leading Neurosurgeon, offers treatment for stroke in Tamil Nadu with help of dedicated team.

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