What is a Stroke?

To understand what a stroke is, it helps to understand what the brain is. The brain is a squishy organ inside your head, and it’s the most important part of your body for your thoughts and actions. It doesn’t keep itself alive on its own—it needs blood, oxygen, and nutrients from other parts of the body to stay healthy.

A stroke happens when a blood vessel in your brain bursts or gets blocked by a clot. This cuts off the flow of oxygen and nutrients to part of the brain, which starts to die. If you don’t get help right away, that dead area will get bigger over time, affecting your ability to think clearly and move around.

The first stroke symptoms include a sudden numbness or weakness in your face and arm, or sometimes just one side of your body. You may also have trouble speaking clearly or understanding what people are saying.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is restricted, usually by a clot. A clot can either be “thrombotic” or “embolic.” A thrombotic stroke, which accounts for about 80% of all strokes, is caused by an abnormal blood clot that has formed in one of the arteries in the brain. An embolic stroke is due to a clot that forms in another part of the body and travels through the bloodstream to affect brain circulation. The blockage of blood flow causes damage to the brain which may result in disability or death, depending on how much of the brain is affected and how severe that damage is.

When a stroke occurs, the affected part of the brain cells becomes oxygen deprived and begins to die. If less than 10% of your brain cells are damaged, you may not notice any symptoms right away. But if more than half of your brain cells are damaged, you will experience paralysis on one side of your body and/or difficulty speaking and understanding speech. In addition to causing paralysis, bleeding into the brain can also cause permanent injury or death to brain cells even if they aren’t directly injured by lack of oxygen.

Who is at Risk?

Many people think of stroke as a problem that only affects the elderly, but it can happen at any time. It’s true that the risk of stroke increases with age. The good news is that most strokes are preventable and treatable—if you know the signs and symptoms, you can take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts or leaks, or when a blood vessel in another part of the body becomes blocked, depriving an area of brain tissue of oxygen-rich blood. This deprives that part of the brain of its energy source and causes immediate damage to the cells, eventually leading to death if not treated quickly.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States according to Centers for Disease Control reports, taking more than 130,000 lives each year. In addition, it is one of the most costly conditions in healthcare costs and lost productivity: direct medical costs alone during 2006 was over $34 billion while indirect costs (lost wages, productivity) were more than $34 billion as well.

Strokes are a sudden, often debilitating attack of brain disease that occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, depriving it of oxygen and glucose. The two most common types of stroke are ischemic strokes, caused by blocked arteries, and hemorrhagic strokes, caused by bleeding in or around the brain.

Ischemic strokes account for 87% of all strokes. Risk factors include:

• Age over 45, with risk increasing sharply at 75 years old
• Atrial fibrillation (a heart condition)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Coronary artery disease such as heart attack or chest pain (angina)
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Hemorrhagic strokes account for about 13% of all strokes. Risk factors include:
• Sickle cell anemia
• Strong family history of stroke
• Heart disease and congenital heart defects (birth defects in the heart)

Causes of Stroke

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. It occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is stopped. Brain cells in that area are deprived of oxygen and begin to die. The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is affected.

Stroke can occur in the following ways:

• Carotid artery disease
• Cardioembolic stroke (stroke caused by a blood clot that gets stuck to a vein wall, then travels to an artery where it blocks blood flow)
• Dissection (tearing) of a major artery in the neck or chest
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction) that causes bleeding into the brain
• Intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding within the skull)
• Ischemic stroke (blockage of an artery by a clot)

How to Spot the Early Warning Signs?

There are a variety of signs and symptoms that can be warning signs of stroke. The following outlines some of the most common stroke warning signs and what to do if you think you or someone else might be having a stroke.

Stroke Warning Signs

– Sudden weakness on one side of the body, especially face, arm or leg

– Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech

– Sudden trouble seeing with one or both eyes

– Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

– Sudden severe headache with no known cause

The most common sign of stroke is sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (usually on one side of the body). This can happen to someone while they are awake or asleep.

Blurred vision and sudden headache are also signs of stroke.

Other symptoms include:

• Changes in speech or understanding
• Trouble walking
• Dizziness or loss of balance
• Loss of coordination
• Pain, pins and needles, or numbness in the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)

Exercises after Stroke recovery

Exercises after Stroke recovery are an important part of stroke rehabilitation. They help people return to a more normal life such as walking, moving the arms and hands, and improving their independence. Physical therapists design exercise programs for people after stroke based on their abilities and goals. There are two types of exercises that can help with stroke recovery: those that help prevent or compensate for muscle weakness and those that help reduce stiffness or improve flexibility in joints.

A physical therapist will provide both types of exercises based on what they have observed in therapy sessions. In addition to these exercises, the physical therapist may also recommend stretching exercises if your doctor agrees. Stretching exercises can be done after completing your other exercise routines to increase flexibility in muscles and joints that have become stiff from not being used for a while. A physical therapist will give you instructions about how often to do the stretching exercises.

Physical therapists may also recommend specific equipment for use at home, such as elbow crutches or ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). AFOs are splints that fit around your ankle and foot to prevent you from putting weight on your leg too early during recovery. They are often recommended after the more serious symptoms of stroke have been treated but you still need more time to regain muscle strength.

Why It’s Important and What to Do?

A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is blocked, depriving that area of oxygen and the ability to function. Depending on the size of the area affected, the symptoms vary. Strokes are classified as either ischemic (because of a clot) or hemorrhagic (because of a ruptured blood vessel). When it comes to treatment and recovery, however, there are two camps: those who advocate for tPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) and those who don’t. TPA can be used before it’s too late, but to qualify for this treatment, you must receive it within 3 hours of your stroke onset. The consequences of not receiving tPA include higher mortality rates and higher probability of permanent disability. On the other hand, there has been some evidence that shows that tPA can cause major bleeding in certain patients. Because the decision to use tPA is so drastic and life-changing, it’s important to fully understand what’s at stake if you decide not to administer this drug.