Common Signs of a Stroke
If you ask anyone that works in the medical field they will tell you that a stroke can be one of the most debilitating things that can happen to a person. One thing about a stroke is that they never seem to affect people the same way. There are many different things that will determine how a stroke will affect you. It is actually said that strokes are the 3rd leading cause of death in the US, and it is actually the leading cause of adult disability as well. As a rule strokes usually affect mature adults, but they have been known to affect younger people as well.
It is said that you can prevent a stroke as well and that that up to 80% of all strokes are avoidable. Through this article we will learn exactly what a stroke is, what the signs and symptoms are, how we can prevent them, and treatment options. The signs of a stroke should not be confused with the symptoms of a heart attack.
A stroke is basically an attack on the brain. This occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel breaks. This will affect the blood flow to a part of the brain. This could be to parts of the brain or to the overall area. When this happens and blood flow is stopped to the brain then brain cells start to die and then this is when brain damage occurs.
Common Signs of a Stroke
When brain cells start to die during a stroke then certain parts of the brain, and those abilities associated with that part of the brain, will be damaged. These abilities can be many things such as speech, mobility, memory and behavior to name a few. How much damage occurs is totally determined by the amount of blood loss to that part of the brain. The location of the damage matters as well. People can have small strokes and be minimally affected, whereas people can have major strokes and are greatly affected.
Now that we are aware of what the common signs of a stroke are, it is imperative that you know these signs and know how to react. Many people that are having a stroke are UN aware that they are having one. In addition people seeing someone else have a stroke aren’t always aware of what is happening. They just assume that the person is acting weird, impaired or possibly confused. So for the safety of you and of others is a good idea to be aware of the signs of a stroke, let’s take a look at them.
Common Signs of a Stroke
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg. This can happen all over the body yet it typically happens on the one side of the body only.
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech. This is hard to detect at times as the person could just appear tired or out of sorts, yet the key here is sudden.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headaches with no known cause
The main thing here to remember with the signs and the symptoms is that they are sudden. It’s not something that happens over time it happens almost instantly and there is no other explanation for it. It’s imperative that we know the signs as it is essential to recognize a stroke and get treatment as fast as possible. A stroke is definitely a medical emergency and time is of the essence. The more the blood flow is stopped to the brain the more the damage. Immediate treatment can make a huge difference to the amount of damage. Quick treatment can definitely reduce the damage and provides a better chance of a successful recovery. Research has shown many people that have had an ischemic stroke, and received attention immediately, almost all of them fully recovered.
Naturally there are other determining factors as well when you are looking at the quick treatment and successful recovery of a stroke victim. Typically a younger person has a better chance of less damage and speedier recovery. A person’s health prior to the stroke will make a difference as well. A person with better health is more apt to handle the whole situation better as their body is just better prepared to respond to the situation. Then of course there is luck and as we all know that plays a major role in every aspect of life, strokes included.
Strokes mainly happen to adults yet they most definitely can happen to children as well. It seems the reporting time for child that has had a stroke is much higher than that of an adult. I think this may be due to the fact that it is believed that children are not supposed to have strokes. Not too sure if it will be the denial thing or just the caregiver of the child looking for everything and anything else wrong and ruling out a stroke till the last moment. The causes of childhood stroke and the signs and symptoms are different than that of adults. Whereas adults strokes quite often can be attributed to high blood pressure, high cholesterol smoking and obesity to name a few. In contrast to them children’s strokes can be quite different.
Common Signs of a Stroke in Children
- Birth defects
- Infections ( meningitis, encephalitis )
- Trauma
- Blood disorders such as sickle cell disease
There are some similarities between children and adults when it comes to the effect that a stroke will have. It affects both in the ways of communication such as speech, listening and understanding, yet there are some stroke related disorders that are unique to children and they are:
- Cerebral palsy
- Mental retardation
- Epilepsy
Brains need oxygen, and this is whether we are already born or still in the womb. While in the womb a baby needs oxygen rich blood in order for it to grow. When this supply to the child’s brain is deprived then a stroke will occur. This can cause brain damage to the unborn baby which can result in cerebral palsy. Quite often just after the birth, and more likely in a premature babies, damage can also occur to the baby if it is deprived of oxygen. Typically children will heal faster as they are more flexible and have a better chance to fully recover.
Common Signs of a Stroke in Women
Let’s take a look at strokes with women. Research states that strokes kill twice as many women as breast cancer does every year. Many women that were asked felt that breast cancer was much more common for women than that of a stroke. Almost half of these women asked were not the least bit worried about having a stroke. With this belief it is a bit harder to make women aware of the signs of stroke. This is also important as there are signs that are only women related; let’s take a look at some of the risk factors:
- Family history of stroke
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Being overweight
- Not exercising
Yet there are some risk factors that are available to all women. Keep in mind that just because you have some of these risk factors does not mean you will have a stroke.
. Let’s take a look at the stroke signs and symptoms that are unique to women:
- Taking birth control pills
- Being pregnant. When you are pregnant your chances for having a stroke increase. This is due to the stress on the heart and the increased blood pressure. This is if you are having a normal pregnancy, your chances will increase more if unhealthy.
- Using Hormone Replacement Therapy, to relieve menopausal symptoms.
- Suffering from migraine headaches. If you do suffer from these you have an increased chance of having a stroke.
Common Signs of a Stroke in African American Women
Another interesting statistic is that African American women are twice as likely to die from a stroke and stroke related issues than a Caucasian. Strokes also tend to happen in African American women at an earlier age than Caucasians. The reason for this is completely unknown, yet the facts are staggering. Within the American population, African American women are impacted more by stroke than any other racial group. It is true that not all reasons are known as to why African American women are more prone to have a stroke. It is known that they have a higher rate of high blood pressure, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, smoking and obesity. So I guess it is safe to say if they have a better chance of having one or more of these risk factors then it makes sense that they would be more apt to have a stroke. These are all important reasons to be aware of the common signs and symptoms of a stroke.
According to the Association of Black Cardiologists here are some interesting facts:
- African Americans have twice the mortality from stroke when you compare them to Caucasians
- African Americans have more severe and disabling strokes as compared to Caucasians
- African American women have a lower 1-year survival following ischemic stroke as compared to Caucasians
- African Americans have twice the risk of first ever strokes compared with Caucasians
- Among those 20 to 44, African Americans are 2.4 times more likely to have a stroke as compared to Caucasians.
It is definitely unknown as to why African American women are more apt to have a stroke. Yet there is a lot of research out there and hopefully the African American women will at least make themselves more knowledgeable as to what a stroke is and the signs of a stroke. It’s also a great idea if they were also aware of some prevention that they could do.
There are also a few different types of strokes, let’s take a quick look at each one:
- Ischemic stroke- this is where you do not welcome blood clotting. In everyday life blood clotting is a good thing. This is mainly how all cuts heal, they bleed and then the blood coagulates, or clots. In the case of a stroke blood clots can be dangerous as they can block arteries and cut off blood flow.
- Embolic stroke- with this type of stroke a blood clot forms somewhere in the body and it’s usually in the heart. It then travels through your bloodstream to your brain. Once there it will move to a blood vessel where it will cause a blockage. This causes a stroke.
- Thrombotic stroke- this is where there is a blood clot blockage to one or more of your arteries. Blood clot strokes, such as these one, happen quite more often as well when there are health issues. If someone has unhealthy blood vessels from things as fatty deposits or cholesterol then this will increase your chances as well of having a stroke.
- Hemorrhagic stroke- this stroke is caused by a breakage of a blood vessel or a “blowout” as it is sometimes referred to. Hemorrhages are caused by a number of disorders such as consistent high blood pressure and aneurysms.
Now that we are aware of the signs and symptoms of strokes, as well as lots of other information, it would be a good idea to look at how we can prevent strokes from happening. We will never prevent 100% of strokes, yet with the knowledge of stroke symptoms, we can make progress. Even by preventing a number of them, it is possible that many people that will not be damaged from or die from a stroke. Let’s look at prevention of stroke:
Controllable risks:
- High blood pressure
- Atrial fibrillation
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Atherosclerosis
- Circulation problems
- Tobacco use and smoking
- Alcohol use
- Physical inactivity
- Obesity
Uncontrollable risk factors:
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Family history
- Previous stroke or TIA
- Fibromuscular dysplasia
- Patent Foramen Ovale
As you can see there are many different things that we do have the opportunity to change that will lessen our chances of having a stroke. There are also things that we don’t have the capability of changing yet with changing the others we can hopefully minimize the ones we can’t change.
There is definitely life after a stroke. There will be needs and treatments that you require and this will depend on the severity of the damage that was done by the stroke. Hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones and be minimally affected by the stroke.
Unfortunately if you are not in that lucky group, and are affected to the point where you need support and assistance that these services will be available in your community. While you are in the hospital is a great time to seek out your options. The hospital will have a list of the resources that are available to you. They will also more than likely perform an assessment test on you while in the hospital. They do this to see how well you can perform the activities of daily life and what possible help maybe required for you going home.
They are also the ones that will assess if you need a physical therapist or an occupational therapist to help you with your recovery. They are very good at this and their main goal is for you to get better and be able to go home. They also want to make sure when you do go home that you have the proper support, help and therapy to provide full or partial recovery.
Being speedy with your reaction can make the difference between life and death. There has been a lot of important information in this article. It seems that the most important part of the information given is the understanding of what a stroke is, and the common signs of a stroke, and hopefully this information has prepared you for that.