A stroke or brain attack is a condition in which a blood vessel in the brain bursts and bleeds, or there is a blockage in the blood supply to the brain. As a result, blood and oxygen cannot reach the brain tissue. Usually, a stroke is accompanied by paralysis.
Quoted by detikHealth, brain cells and tissues can be damaged immediately and die within minutes of missing oxygen. Therefore, people who have had a stroke should get immediate medical attention as soon as possible.
Stroke Symptoms
Symptoms of a stroke usually appear when the brain loses blood flow and brain tissue is damaged. These symptoms can appear in various parts of the body controlled by the damaged brain. Here are some of the symptoms of a stroke:
- Paralysis
- Numbness or weakness in the arms, face and legs, especially on one side of the body
- Difficulty speaking or understanding other people
- Confused conversation
- Confusion, disorientation or lack of response
- Sudden changes in behavior, especially increased agitation
- Vision problems, such as difficulty seeing in one or both eyes with black or blurred vision or double vision
- Difficulty walking
- Loss of balance or coordination
- Make you dizzy
- Sudden severe headache with unknown cause
- Crisis
- Nausea or vomiting
Causes of stroke
Stroke itself can be caused by several factors, such as lifestyle, medical history, age, sex, and hormones. Below is a complete description of the causes.
1. Lifestyle: Obesity, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption and the use of illegal drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
2. Medical history: high blood pressure, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, high cholesterol, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, and personal or family history of stroke.
3. Age: Usually, people aged 55 and over have a higher risk of having a stroke.
4. Gender: Women tend to be more prone to stroke.
5. Hormones: The use of birth control pills or hormone therapy that includes estrogen also plays a role in increasing the risk of stroke.
Type of stroke
1. Ischemic stroke
The most common type of stroke is ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain narrows or becomes blocked. As a result, blood flow becomes severely reduced or ischemia.
This narrowing and blockage of blood vessels is caused by fatty deposits that build up in the blood vessels, blood clots, or other impurities flowing through the bloodstream. This condition is often found in the heart and is found in the blood vessels of the brain.
2. Hemorrhagic stroke
In contrast to the narrowing or blockage of an ischemic stroke, this type of hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts. This bleeding can be caused by various conditions such as:
- Aneurysm: An aneurysm is a swelling of the area of a weakened blood vessel. If not treated immediately, an aneurysm can cause a blood vessel in the brain to burst and bleed.
- Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM): AVM refers to an abnormal formation of a group of blood vessels. One of these vessels can then rupture and cause bleeding in the brain.
- Transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini stroke): A TIA is usually caused by a temporary interruption of the blood supply to an area of the brain. These TIA symptoms usually pass quickly and can heal completely within 24 hours. Therefore, many people do not identify the experienced condition as a stroke or not. Problems then arise because people who experience a TIA can usually go back to having a TIA or even a complete stroke. In the long term, TIA can cause dementia.
Stroke facts
Quoted from www.world-stroke.org, here are four facts about stroke.
1. Stroke has been classified as an epidemic disease. 1 in 4 adults over the age of 25 will have a stroke. More than 110 million people around the world are known to have had a stroke.
2. The chances of having a stroke increase significantly with age. The reason is that 60% of strokes occur in people over the age of 50.
3. Stroke can cause permanent damage, including partial paralysis and impaired speech, understanding and memory. The longer a part of the brain affected by a stroke is deprived of a blood supply, the more severe the disability will be.
4. One of the main factors causing stroke is high blood pressure due to atherosclerosis, which is the accumulation of fat, cholesterol and other substances in and around the artery walls.
(iqk / iqk)
