By pauline Types, Causes, And Preventive Measures For Stroke Stroke is a condition wherein the flow of blood to the brain is disrupted due to a blood clot or ruptured blood vessel or artery. A lack of oxygen or glucose in the blood causes brain damage or death of the brain cells. This leads to speechlessness or loss of memory or impairment of any part of the body.
Types and severity of stroke
There are two major types of strokes namely ischemic and hemorrhagic. The former is the more prevalent as it is observed in close to 75% of the stroke patients. This type of stroke happens when there is a blood clot or thrombus that disrupts the flow of blood to the brain. The clotting of blood in any part of the body causing free-floating of the blood is termed as embolus. This type of circulating blood clot if carried to the brain causes ischemic stroke. The hemorrhagic stroke generally occurs when the blood in any part of the brain fills the space between the brain and the skull. This condition may be caused when any of the blood vessel or artery in the brain ruptures inefficiently. Sometimes, it may yield severe symptoms when there is a heavy build up of blood in the part of the brain.
The severity of the stroke depends largely on which part of the brain the stroke occurs and to what extent it has affected the flow of the blood. If the condition is mild, then the person may experience weakness in the arms, difficulty in moving, incontinence or problems in the urinary bladder. Nevertheless, severe strokes can lead to paralysis or death.
Causes of stroke
Ischemic strokes occur when an embolus or thrombus blocks the flow of bloodstream to the brain. Thrombus clots (or blood clots) occur when the arteries are damaged by atherosclerosis (fatty deposits of blood). The embolus blood clots are caused mainly due to atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat pattern that ultimately results in clot or poor flow of blood.
Hemorrhage strokes are caused due to high blood pressure, head injury, or aneurysms (a type of cardiovascular disease). High blood pressure is one of the chief causes of cerebral hemorrhage mainly because it causes some of the brain arteries to burst wide open. The burst or crack puts more pressure on the brain as the oxygen flow is gradually disrupted.
Aneurysms is the condition wherein the fatty deposits of blood clots leads to weak spots or cracks along the walls of the artery. It is also the commonest cause of an abnormality termed as subarachnoid hemorrhage. Aneurysm mainly leads to the filling of blood in the region between the skull and the brain. It is to be noted that high blood pressure may also lead to Aneurysm.
How to prevent stroke?
A healthy lifestyle can very well prevent the occurrence of stroke in most cases. Some of the things that you can do to keep away from stroke are highlighted as follows.Control the blood pressure and cholesterol levels in your bodyTreat and control diabetes with proper medications. Avoid excessive smoking or drinking, especially when you are ill or suffering from any ailment.Check out for any atrial fibrillation.
Most importantly, don’t get tensed or stressed for any reason; stick to a healthy diet. Do regular exercises to get rid of the excess fat in the body. Engaging in physical activities can help prevent the blood clots. You can do simple workouts even while you are watching TV programs using any of the popular cable services such as the FiOS TV.
If you have blood clots in any of your body parts, try taking anti-platelet and anticoagulant drugs to control the clot.