1. Stroke Symptoms
Published by Campbell M Gold in Allopathic · Thursday 17 Oct 2024 · 3:15
Tags: stroke, symptoms, transient, ischaemic, attack, TIA, brain, health, sudden, symptoms, medical, emergency, stroke, types, neurological, symptoms, health, awareness, stroke, prevention
Tags: stroke, symptoms, transient, ischaemic, attack, TIA, brain, health, sudden, symptoms, medical, emergency, stroke, types, neurological, symptoms, health, awareness, stroke, prevention
Stroke Symptoms Typically Appear Suddenly
Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) symptoms can include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Difficulty speaking
- Confusion or difficulty understanding
- Loss of balance or coordination
- Severe headache
- Numbness, weakness or inability to move the face, arm or leg on one side of the body
- Drooping of face, eye, or mouth.
- Blurred vision or sudden loss of sight in one eye
Recognising Stroke
A way to recognise stroke is to evaluate the individual's speech, face, and arms.
- Check for blurred speech: Blurred or incoherent speech indicates stroke.
- Check the face for signs of drooping: Drooping, especially around the eyes and mouth, indicates stroke.
- Get the person to raise and hold their arms horizontally: Arm weakness indicates stroke.
If the signs of stroke are present, emergency help should be immediately called for.
Iridology is an alternative diagnostic technique useful in monitoring stroke progress.
Types of Stroke
Types of stroke include:
- Hemorrhagic Stroke: This is caused by bleeding inside the brain, which can be a consequence of a blood vessel rupturing within the brain or on the brain's surface.
- Ischaemic Stroke: This type of stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked by a blood clot or a piece of fatty material.
- Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA or "mini-stroke"): This is similar to a full-blown stroke; however, the symptoms are typically only temporary. TIAs occur when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted briefly.
- Stroke in consequence of a cervical artery dissection: This is when the lining in one of the arteries in the neck is torn, thus restricting the blood supply to the brain.
Common Problems
Common problems following a stroke can include:
- Problems with speech
- Memory and concentration difficulties
- Weakness or paralysis, typically on one side of the body
- Extreme tiredness
- Difficulty in controlling the bladder and bowel movements (incontinence)
- Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia)
- Extreme weakness
- Anxiety and depression
- Problems with reading, writing, and basic arithmetic
- problems with vision - including blurred vision, double vision, and/or partial blindness
These problems often improve as recovery is made.
Some strokes, such as the Transient Ischaemic Attack, may be relatively mild, and the effects thereof only temporary. However, other strokes may be more severe and can cause lasting and serious damage. How much damage a stroke will cause is dependent upon where in the brain the stroke occurred and how much brain tissue was affected.
Complications
One of the main effects of stroke is the inability to move some or all of the body, and this immobility can increase the possibility of:
- Seizures - possibly occurring in the weeks and months following the initial stroke episode.
- Contractures (altered position of the hands, arms, legs, or feet due to muscle spasm and tightness)
- Constipation
- Pressure sores
- Pneumonia
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
Causes of Stroke
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted.
This can be the consequence of a blood clot blocking an artery in the brain (ischaemic stroke) or a blood vessel rupturing in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke).
Identified Risk factors for stroke include:
- Family history of stroke/heart disease
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Being overweight or obese
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia)
- Conditions that increase a bleeding tendency (e.g. Haemophilia)
- Alcohol abuse
- Using drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, etc
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