A Stroke or cerebrovascular attack (CVA) is a medical emergency which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or when there is bleeding in the brain. It can happen to any person and from one moment to another, regardless of their age, sex orrace. However, there are risk factors that increase the chances of suffering it.
Types of stroke or cerebrovascular disease:
Ischemic: It can be embolic or thrombotic. It is when there is an occlusion of an artery, leading to the decrease or cessation of the blood flow in that part of the brain.
Hemorrhagic:
The blood vessel is broken. It can be due to several causes, among them, arterial hypertension, or causes such as a malformation of a vessel (aneurysms).
Age: Strokes can be suffered at any age. The risk increases once you are 55 years old.
Sex: both sexes are affected equally, but complications and deaths are increased in women. Having suffered a stroke before increases the chances of suffering it again.
High blood pressure: this is possibly the most important risk factor, since controlling the tension considerably reduces the risk of suffering a stroke.
Tobacco: Smoking increases the risk of stroke because nicotine and monoxide carbon directly damage blood vessels in various ways, hardens them, and lose elasticity, cholesterol plaques form, blood pressure increases, and this increases the risk of suffering a stroke.
Carotid artery disease: the arteries in the neck that carry blood to the brain. If the arteries have cholesterol plaques, you decrease the flow of blood to the brain, and a clot can form which, if it breaks off, goes to the brain and causes a stroke.
The diagnosis of this is made by the doctor listening to the arteries of the neck or a cardiologist doing an echo-Doppler of carotid arteries.
Diabetes Mellitus: Having this disease is related to stroke, since it goes related to high cholesterol levels, hypertension, overweight, which further increases the risk of stroke.
Obesity: being overweight, along with high cholesterol levels and lack of exercise increase the risk of suffering a stroke.
Heart disease: A person with heart disease is at increased risk of have a stroke, since certain conditions, such as arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation) or increased heart size can produce clots that travel to the brain and cause a stroke
Drinking excess alcohol: Excess alcohol can increase the pressure blood, obesity, triglycerides (blood fat), cancer, cause failures cardiac events and, consequently, cause a stroke.
Certain types of drug use: Taking drugs intravenously increases the stroke risk due to a cerebral embolus. The use of cocaine has also been strongly related to stroke, heart attacks and various complications cardiovascular These problems have occurred, even when it has been consumed by first time cocaine.
If we have not been able to prevent the stroke, we must be aware of the symptoms that they are presented, since to detect them in time and to treat them is fundamental in the survival and recovery in these cases
Symptons:
Abrupt alteration in the language with difficulties to speak or understand.
Sudden loss of strength or sensitivity of a part of the body (face,
arm, leg) being the characteristic the one that affects one half of the body.
Abrupt alteration of vision: loss of ability to appreciate objects
located on one side of the visual field, sudden loss of vision in
one eye or double vision.
Sudden loss of coordination of movements or balance.
Severe headache, different from other normal headaches, sometimes accompanied by any of the signs or symptoms previously mentioned.
How to prevent a stroke?
Prevention is the most important thing in heart and cerebrovascular diseases.
Diet: A healthy diet, avoiding saturated fats, controlling weight and maintaining normal cholesterol levels. Decrease the consumption of salt in the diet (this is to control the blood pressure).
Exercise: Avoid a sedentary life. Exercise not only controls the weight, but it maintains a good circulation throughout our body, which avoids that cholesterol plaques form, and blood pressure is also controlled.
Do not smoke: Avoid tobacco, and also avoid being a passive smoker. Contact with tobacco smoke increases the risk of suffering a stroke.
Moderate alcohol consumption:
Mild consumption (less than 12 grams per day) or moderate (12 to 24 grams) reduces the risk of suffering a stroke.
Control blood pressure, cholesterol, the sugar in blood, overweight.
If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, control and take your
medications correctly, and also visit your doctor to test and take medical check-ups, tests, electrocardiogram, review with the cardiologist to perform an echocardiogram, doppler of carotids, in order to prevent a stroke.
Remember that when the stroke occurs, minutes and seconds are crucial, since emergency therapies are aimed at preserving the integrity of the brain and re-establish the circulation that is blocked up.
In the fase of a person who presents any of the mentioned symptons, you must immediately notify 112, activate the emergency systems with the purpose of getting an adequate and rapid diagnosis and treatment.
In most cases, strokes can be prevented controlling the risk factors previously mentioned.
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