Signs of a Stroke

A stroke results when blood overflows into the spaces surrounding brain cells. This might occur when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. Or it might occur when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. The biggest danger is that brain cells die. They die when they are not receiving oxygen and nutrients from the blood. They also die when there is sudden bleeding around the brain.

There are several signs that might indicate a stroke has occurred:

1. Sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body

2. Sudden confusion or trouble with speaking or with understanding others

3. Sudden trouble with vision in one or both eyes

4. Sudden trouble walking or with dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination

5. Sudden severe headache, the cause of which is unknown

Strokes are classified into one of two types:

1. Ischemic this is when a blood vessel flowing to the brain is blocked

2. Hemorrahagic this is when there is bleeding around or even into the brain

The treatment stages for a stroke are classified as prevention, therapy immediately following a stroke, and post-stroke rehabilitation.

Generally there are three treatment stages for stroke: prevention, therapy immediately after the stroke, and post-stroke rehabilitation.

Prevention of a stroke revolves around treating the underlying risk factors such hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes. Acute stroke therapy tries to stop a stroke while it is happening by quickly dissolving the blood clot causing an ischemic stroke or by stopping the bleeding of a hemorrhagic stroke. Post-stroke rehabilitation focuses on helping people to overcome disabilities that result from stroke damage.

The most common form is treatment for a stroke is medication or drug. The most common types of drugs used to prevent and/or treat stroke are antithrombotics (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants) and thrombolytics.

A stroke, even though it occurs in the brain, can affect the whole body. Hemiplegia, or complete paralysis of one side of the body, is a common result of a stroke. Hemiparesis, or one-sided weakness, is another common result.

A stroke survivor may have problems with thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory, or with understanding or forming speech. Sometimes strokes result in emotional problems such controlling emotions or expressing inappropriate emotion. It is not unusual for a stroke survivor to experience depression, numbness, or other strange sensations. Survivors report pain in feet and hands that is made worse by movement and temperature changes. Cold temperatures seem to have an especially uncomfortable effect on the extremities.

It is common knowledge in the medical community that approximately 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within 5 years.

Stroke research and clinical trials are conducted at the laboratories and clinics of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Research is also being conducted as a result of grants to major medical institutions across the country. Specifically, NINDS researchers are studying the mechanisms of stroke risk factors and the process of brain damage that results from stroke.

The genetics of stroke and stroke risk factors are also the focus of widespread basic research. Scientists are continually trying to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself to restore important functions. Encouraging advances in imaging and rehabilitation show that the brain can actually compensate for function lost as a result of stroke.