Stroke an epidemic and various symptoms and treatment

A stroke is a condition in which the brain cells suddenly die because of a lack of oxygen. This can be caused by the rupture of an artery that feeds the brain in the blood flow. The patient may lose the ability to speak suddenly, one side of the body can become paralyzed or there may be memory problems. The two types are: • Ischemic occurs when thrombus or a blood clot, forms that blocks of the blood flow to part of the brain. Embolus is a blood clot that forms somewhere in the body and breaks off to become free-floating. This wandering clot may be carried through the bloodstream to the brain where it can cause ischemic stroke. • Hemorrhagic occurs when blood vessel on the brain's surface ruptures and fills the space between the brain and skull with blood (subarachnoid hemorrhage) or when a defective artery in the brain bursts and fills the surrounding tissue with blood (cerebral hemorrhage).rnBoth types result in a lack of blood flow to the brain and a buildup of blood that puts too much pressure on the brain. The outcome after it depends on how much of the brain is affected and larger ones may lead to paralysis or death. Who gets it? rnAnyone can suffer from it. Risk factors for it include the following: • Over age 55rn• Malern• A family history of itrn• High blood pressurern• High cholesterolrn• Smoking cigarettesrn• Diabetesrn• Obesity and overweightrn• Cardiovascular diseasern• Transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a previous strokern• High levels of homocysteine (an amino acid in blood) • Other hormone therapy or Birth control use • Cocaine usern• Heavy use of alcohol. • Depression Causes of it: rnAbnormal blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the wall of an artery - are the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage and are called as Aneurysms and blood vessels in the brain may spasm. Aneurysms are often made worse or caused by high blood pressure. What are the symptoms of it? rnBrain cells begin to die within a few minutes of having it and symptoms can become present. Common symptoms include: • Dizziness, trouble walking, loss of balance and coordinationrn• Speech problemsrn• Numbness, weakness, or paralysis on one side of the bodyrn• Blurred, blackened, or double visionrn• Sudden severe headache How is it treated? rnThe primary goal in treating ischemic is to restore blood flow to the brain. This will be treated using blood clot-busting drugs such as heparin, aspirin, or tissue plasminogen activators that must be administered within three hours of it. Surgical procedures in addition may be performed that can open up or widen arteries. These include carotid endarterectomy (removal of plaque and widening of the carotid artery) and angioplasty (a balloon that widens the cartoid artery and is held open with a metallic mesh tube called a stent). Cholesterol lowering drugs can prevent recurrence of it. Hemorrhagic is treated differently than ischmic. Surgical methods used to treat this variant include aneurysm embolisation, aneurysm clipping, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) removal.