What is a stroke?
At a stroke, something goes wrong with the blood vessels in the brains. There becomes blocked a blood vessel by a blood clot. As a result, there can be no more blood to the brains. A part of the brains will then receive no or too little blood. Brain cells become damaged or die.
What symptoms are created, depends upon the site of the infarct. Some people can no longer speak after a stroke and understand words anymore. This is called aphasia. Others become paralyzed part.
The treatment may consist of drugs for a good blood pressure and heart rate. Also, you might get an infusion of an agent that dissolves clots. This treatment called thrombolysis.
Some people recover after a stroke to a large extent. About half of people become moderately or severely disabled. A quarter of the people dies after a stroke. The sooner treatment begins, the greater the chance that someone recovers.
Who can have a stroke?
- the elderly;
- people with high blood pressure;
- people with diabetes mellitus;
- people with high cholesterol;
- people with cardiovascular disease (such as arteriosclerosis and cardiac arrhythmias);
- those with a lot of red blood cells in the blood (the blood is faster than thicker and there arise clots);
- smokers;
- people who have a lot of stress;
- overweight people;
- people who exercise too little
What is the treatment for a stroke?
It is less than three hours since stroke began? Then you might get an infusion of an agent that dissolves clots. The blood may then be better to flow through. This treatment called thrombolysis. Some people may also after three hours you get such treatment in a special center. They get the agent than in an artery.
Most strokes last no more than a few hours and then worsen anymore. However, it may also extend for a few days. In addition, more and more brain cells die off. To stop this, the doctor may prescribe anticoagulants. Whether this really help is not yet proven.
It is important that the doctor knows how the stroke occurred. Was it a heart arrhythmia? Is there something wrong with the blood? Was an infection is the cause? Only when the doctor knows which you have received a stroke, they can do something to the cause. Most people receive medication. Surgery does not make sense because the brain tissue after an infarction is too badly damaged.