Stroke is known by many other names: stroke, apoplexy, brain attack or cerebral infarction ; and it is feared by anyone, no matter how it is labelled.

The cause of this fear is that the effects of a stroke can be fatal to the person, ranging from the onset of any type of disability to death. To get an idea, strokes are the third leading cause of death in the western part of the world.

That is why it is so important to know what they are and what their first symptoms are, in order to avoid any major illness in the person.

What is a stroke? Definition

A stroke consists of the interruption of blood flow to the brain due to a blocked or broken blood vessel . This suspension of blood supply to the brain causes the neurons not to receive enough oxygen and begin to die.

If we consider that the brain is responsible for the functioning of everything the person does: walking, thinking, speaking, moving, and even breathing, this can end up with some kind of disability; even causing permanent damage to the brain or even death if the stroke is not detected in time.

Two types of stroke can be distinguished:

1. Ischemic stroke

Due to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the arterial vessels that inject blood into the brain preventing the passage of this. Other times, this pause in blood flow is produced by a blood clot with a larger than usual size .

2. Hemorrhagic stroke

In this type of stroke the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain, and the consequent spilling of blood from it, causes intracranial bleeding which can also affect the membranes surrounding the brain and the meninges.

Causes and risk factors

There are three main reasons that cause stroke:

1. Clogging of the arteries by a clot or by hardening : prone in people with arteriosclerosis, diabetes, high cholesterol levels or hypertension.

2. Obstruction due to a cerebral embolism: in this type of accident a blood clot , belonging to any area of the body, travels through the body until it meets a narrow artery where it becomes stuck.

3. Intracranial hemorrhage caused by rupture , rupture due to hardening or congestion of the blood vessels, also called aneurysm, or by hypertension.

Although many of these causes are associated with various diseases with risk of stroke, there are risk factors, some of which are avoidable, so a seemingly healthy person can suffer any of the types of stroke.

Unchanged risk factors

These risk factors are impossible for a person to control or modify. These are:

  • Genetics : If there is a family history of stroke, this person may be more likely to have one.
  • Age : older people are more likely to have a stroke.
  • Sex : men are generally more likely than women to have one of these strokes.
  • Being born with a more fragile heart than usual or having an altered heart rate.
  • First months after pregnancy : women who have just given birth may be more likely to suffer a stroke after the first few months.

Controllable risk factors

However, there are other elements that also influence when suffering a cardiovascular incident but that can be modified or mastered:

  • Physical inactivity: Regular physical exercise decreases the chance of stroke
  • High cholesterol levels-the chance of having a stroke increases when blood cholesterol levels exceed 240 mg/dL
  • Obesity
  • Anxiety or stress
  • Tobacco

Symptoms

The bad reputation and the fear of strokes comes not only because of the consequences that it can have, but also because in many cases the symptoms appear suddenly, the person does not perceive any of them and therefore does not realize that he is suffering a stroke.

The symptoms that usually warn of a stroke are:

  • Intense headache with no apparent cause
  • Confusion and speech difficulties
  • Loss of vision in one or both eyes
  • Numbness or weakness in the face, arms, and legs (especially on one side of the body)
  • Dizziness, dizziness, and loss of balance or coordination

FAST stroke test

However, there is a protocol for the rapid detection of a stroke. This protocol, called FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time), is vital to the possibility of detecting a stroke and saving a life, with only the appearance of one being a cause for alarm.

The test consists of observing a series of milestones:

1. Face : if the person can only move one side of the face it is a sign of spillage. To do this, ask the person to smile and observe whether both sides are the same or not.

2. Arms : The person is asked to raise his or her arms, if only one can be raised, or if he or she feels difficulties in the other, this is another sign.

3. Speaks : Asking the person to say their first and last name, their address or simply to repeat a sentence, if they don’t coordinate the words or do so too slowly is considered a sign of spillage.

4. Time : Whether you comply with the three signs or only comply with one, it is of vital importance to contact the emergency services to intervene as soon as possible, since after the first hour since the appearance of the symptoms the damage may be irreversible.

Diagnosis

For a correct diagnosis of stroke it is necessary both to identify what type of stroke it is, and to determine the location and cause .

During the first step in identifying the type of stroke, clinicians may use a computerized axial tomography (CT) scan of the head or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Below are various tests and techniques to get the rest of the information about the spill. For example:

  • Blood tests
  • Electrocardiograms (ECG)
  • Cerebral angiography
  • Carotid ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound.

Treatment

As mentioned above, a stroke requires emergency treatment, which can reduce the likelihood of disability and even save the patient’s life.

The choice of treatment will depend on the type of stroke, but in either case the priority is to restore blood flow when it is an ischemic stroke, and to reduce brain pressure if it is hemorrhagic.

In the event that the cause of the stroke is a blood clot, and this is detected during the first hours after the start of the stroke, the patient is given a clot-reducing drug, which will dilute the clot and boost blood flow in the affected area.

In addition to this emergency treatment, there are two other types of treatment to contain the effects of strokes :

1. Intracranial vascular systems

Endovascular interventions are used to increase blood flow in the veins and arteries of the brain. This treatment involves the introduction of a catheter along the blood vessels to the brain. Once there, the catheter can leave different elements:

  • Drugs to dissolve blood mass
  • Suction systems or mechanized removers
  • Balloons and stents, used to keep vessels open
  • Aneurysm repair metal coils

2. Surgery

By using surgery, the medical professional can scramble the spilled blood around the brain, as well as mend those broken blood vessels.

After a stroke, most people need to go to rehabilitation to regain function that may have been affected by the stroke. This includes re-education of the patient to eliminate risk factors that may facilitate the occurrence of a second stroke.