Brain stroke, or in common language paralysis happens, when there is sudden alteration of blood flow to particular part of brain.This alteration can be due to blockage of blood suppling tubes, or rupturing of blood tubes or ballooning and subsequently rupturing of blood tubes.
Of late the term- brain attack is more often used by many healthcare workers with an intension to create sense of urgency for Brain stroke to seek medical help at the earliest , as it happens in heart attack.
There are nearly 15 million people with brain stroke all over the world, it can affect all age group and all races and sex. The reasons for brain stroke can be different at different age.
There are two main types of brain stroke. One is due to blockage of blood flow due to obstruction by blood clot (ischemic stroke). This amounts to nearly 80 percent of all strokes. Other type of brain stroke is due to bleeding in the brain – by blood tube rupturing which amounts to about 20 percent (hemorrhagic stroke).
The following are the main causes of brain stroke.
- High blood pressure – nearly 70 out of 100 stroke affected people will have high blood pressure.
- Diabetes mellitus-mostly uncontrolled
- High cholesterol level
- Chronic smoking and alcohol consumption
- Obesity
- Various heart related disorders
Apart from above there are other causes like, sedentary lifestyle – leading to increase in the above risk factors, chronic high levels of stress, in females some of the hormones used for menstrual period regularizations and family history of stroke.
What are the symptoms which people with brain stroke may have?
The problems or symptoms depend on the area of the brain that is affected by lack of blood supply. Most commonly , one sided weakness with or without numbness, difficulty to speak and understand what is spoken, sudden loss of consciousness, sudden blindness etc.
How can general public recognize a person who has stroke?
To create awareness among the public about brain stroke, world stroke organization has popularized an acronym called ‘FAST’.
F – if you see someone with Face dropping to one side.
A – Arm drifting, if you ask a person with suspected stroke to put out both upper limbs and if one arm is drifting down.
S – Speech, if you notice someone with difficulty to speak suddenly.
T – Time to call the emergency / ambulance to get quick medical help.
Knowledge about the FAST – can help identify a significant number of stroke sufferers in a short time.
Few important investigations will be carried out in the persons with suspected stroke, these are mainly:
- Few blood tests including blood sugar.
- Brain scan – either CT scan or MRI.
- Heart related tests – like ECG or echo.
Treatment of acute brain stroke:
The management of brain stroke has significantly changed since 10-15 years all over the world after the availability of ‘clot buster’ injection.
The only problem is that the person who is suspected of brain stroke should reach the hospital which is well equipped with modern, investigatory facilities and treatment facilities, at the earliest, as this injection which is supposed to dissolve the clot can be given only up to 4.5 hours after the initial symptom of brain stroke.
It is estimated that for every minute after the first symptom of brain stroke there are more than one billion nerve cells which die and cannot be recovered. This is the reason why the frequently used acronym- “TIME IS BRAIN”,
The earliest one who receives this clot buster injection, their are very high chances of complete recovery, even though the maximum time limit given is 4.5 hours, it is better to receive the treatment at the earliest time to get the best benefits.There are few situations in which these injections cannot be given even if they reach early, about which the treating doctor will evaluate.
If for some reason a person with brain stroke cannot reach hospital within 4.5 hours, there is still hope of getting better treatment by what is called “Mechanical thrombectomy”, which can give maximum benefit if done up to 18-24 hours. In this option the expert doctors remove the clot that is blocking the blood flow.
Recovery depends on many factors – site of stroke, size of stroke, condition of other blood vessels, associated risk factors as mentioned above, and the age of the patient. Usually maximum improvements can be seen in the first 3 months, which may slow down over next 3 months, but some amount of improvement can go up to many years.
Main things which decides the speed of recovery after the initial acute treatment are – physio therapy, speech therapy, strict control of risk factors, lot of support from family and surroundings.
At the end it is no exaggeration if repeated that,
TIME IS BRAIN– reach the well-equipped hospital as soon as possible to get the maximum benefit.
One can be a stroke educator by popularizing the acronym FAST, among your family members, office colleagues, and friends circle which could possibly help or save someone’s life.
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