Stroke (patient information): Difference between revisions
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==Prevention of stroke== | ==Prevention of stroke== | ||
:*Keep a good lifestyle: Avoidance of smoking, have a healthy diet | |||
:*Treatment your [[hypertension]], [[diabetes]] and [[atherosclerosis]] | |||
==What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?== | ==What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?== | ||
Revision as of 20:29, 9 March 2010
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Jinhui Wu, MD
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What is stroke?
How do I know if I have stroke and what are the symptoms of stroke?
There are two major kinds of stroke. The first, called an ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel or artery in the brain. About 80 percent of all strokes are ischemic. The second, known as a hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel in the brain that breaks and bleeds into the brain. About 20 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic. Small strokes may not cause any symptoms, but can still damage brain tissue. According to The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), there are five major signs of stroke as the following.
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body)
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Who is at risk for stroke?
- Hypertension
- Heart disease,such as coronary artery disease, rheumatic heart disease
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- Smoking
- Increasing age
How to know you have stroke?
- Physical examination, especially examination on nervous system.
- Computerized tomography: In order to help determine the cause of a suspected stroke, a CT scan of the brain is often performed. It can detect bleeding or masses within the brain, which is a much different situation than stroke. Also, CT scan can help differentiate stroke from other brain diseases, such as brain tumor, brain abscess.
- MRI scan: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic waves rather than x-rays to image the brain. It can supply more detailed than those from CT, but this is not a first line test in stroke because an MRI may take more than an hour to complete.
- MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram): MRA is a procedure to use a specifically view the blood vessels non-invasively (without using tubes or injections) with MRI. Doctors can get more information from this test.
- Angiogram: An angiogram is an invasive procedure that is sometimes used to view the blood vessels. During this procedure, a long catheter tube is inserted into an artery (usually in the groin area) and dye is injected while x-rays are simultaneously taken. Now angiogram is replaced by computerized tomography with angiography.
- Computerized tomography with angiography: With the guide of CT, the doctor uses the dye that is injected into a vein in the arm, to image the blood vessels in the brain. This procedure can give information regarding aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations. As well, other abnormalities of brain blood flow may be evaluated.
When to seek urgent medical care?
A stroke is a medical emergency. Anyone suspected of having a stroke should be taken to a medical facility immediately for evaluation and treatment.
Treatment options
Treatment of stroke depends on the type.
Treatment of ischemic stroke
The goal of the treatment of ischemic stroke is to restore blood flow to your brain as soon as possible. Quick treatment not only improves your chances of survival, but may also reduce the amount of complications resulting from the stroke.
- Medications: Medications, such as aspirin, warfarin or heparin, may be proven immediate treatment after a stroke to reduce the likelihood of having another stroke. Tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is a potent clot-busting drug that helps some people who have had stroke recover more fully. These drugs are forbiddened to people who are having a hemorrhagic stroke.
- Surgery: Surgical procedure including carotid endarterectomy, angioplasty and stents, can be used to open up an artery that's moderately to severely narrowed by plaques.
- Carotid endarterectomy: In this procedure, a surgeon opens the blocked artery and removes plaques that block the carotid arteries that run up both sides of your neck to your brain. The procedure may reduce your risk of ischemic stroke.
- Angioplasty and stents: In this procedure, the doctor put a balloon-tipped catheter into the obstructed area of your artery. When the balloon is inflated, compressing the plaques against your artery walls. Then the stent is usually left in the artery to prevent recurrent narrowing.
Treatment of hemorrhagic stroke
Most hemorrhagic stroke is associated with aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Surgery may be recommeded to treat these disorders or prevent another one. The most common procedures include aneurysm clipping, aneurysm embolization and arteriovenous malformation removal.
- Aneurysm clipping
- Coiling (aneurysm embolization)
- Surgical arteriovenous malformation (AVM) removal
Diseases with similar symptoms
- Brain tumors
- Brain abscess
- Migraine headache
- Head trauma
- Meningitis
- Encephalitis
- An overdose of certain medications
- An imbalance of electrolyte or glucose in the body, such as hyponatremia, hypoglycemia
Where to find medical care for stroke?
Directions to Hospitals Treating stroke
Prevention of stroke
- Keep a good lifestyle: Avoidance of smoking, have a healthy diet
- Treatment your hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Copyleft Sources
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/stroke/article.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm