Related topics: patients , brain , blood flow
Stroke
hideA stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia (lack of blood supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage. As a result, the affected area of the brain is unable to function, leading to inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, inability to understand or formulate speech, or inability to see one side of the visual field. In the past, stroke was referred to as cerebrovascular accident or CVA, but the term "stroke" is now preferred.[citation needed]
A stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. It is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States and Europe. In the UK, it is the second most common cause of death, the first being heart attacks and third being cancer. It is the number two cause of death worldwide and may soon become the leading cause of death worldwide. Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, hypertension (high blood pressure), previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation. High blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke.
The traditional definition of stroke, devised by the World Health Organization in the 1970s, is a "neurological deficit of cerebrovascular cause that persists beyond 24 hours or is interrupted by death within 24 hours". This definition was supposed to reflect the reversibility of tissue damage and was devised for the purpose, with the time frame of 24 hours being chosen arbitrarily. The 24-hour limit divides stroke from transient ischemic attack, which is a related syndrome of stroke symptoms that resolve completely within 24 hours. With the availability of treatments that, when given early, can reduce stroke severity, many now prefer alternative concepts, such as brain attack and acute ischemic cerebrovascular syndrome (modeled after heart attack and acute coronary syndrome respectively), that reflect the urgency of stroke symptoms and the need to act swiftly.
A stroke is occasionally treated with thrombolysis ("clot buster"), but usually with supportive care (speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy) in a "stroke unit" and secondary prevention with antiplatelet drugs (aspirin and often dipyridamole), blood pressure control, statins, and in selected patients with carotid endarterectomy and anticoagulation.
For more information about Stroke, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with stroke
New understanding about mechanism for cell death after stroke leads to possible therapy
21 hours ago |
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Scientists at the Brain Research Centre, a partnership of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, have uncovered new information about the mechanism by which ...
Investigational neurostimulation device aims to reduce stroke damage
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Stroke researchers at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston are the only ones in Texas to offer a novel device that might extend the acute stroke treatment window from three hours to 24.
FDA says heartburn drugs can interfere with Plavix
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack ...
Study shows stroke incidence related to angioplasty remains steady over past 15 years
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Results of a Mayo Clinic study show the incidence of stroke or mini-stroke related to a coronary angioplasty remained steady over a 15-year period. Researchers say this is good news because physicians now are performing the ...
Migraine raises risk of most common form of stroke
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: ...
Robotic Devices Providing Home-Care Rehabilitation (w/ Video)
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of researchers, at Northeastern University, have developed several portable robotic devices to aid in the rehabilitation process of stroke victims. These devices are small enough for ...
Study finds many people with hemianopia have difficulty detecting pedestrians while driving
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Schepens Eye Research Institute scientists have found that--when tested in a driving simulator--patients with hemianopia (blindness in one half of the visual field in both eyes) have significantly more difficulty detecting ...
Findings suggest lipid assessment in vascular disease can be simplified, without the need to fast
Nov 10, 2009 |
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Lipid assessment in vascular disease can be simplified by measuring either total and HDL cholesterol levels or apolipoproteins, without the need to fast and without regard to triglyceride levels, according to a study in the ...
Women More Likely Than Men to Suffer Depression After Stroke
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Depression occurs in as many as one-third of patients after a stroke, and women are at somewhat higher risk, according to a large new review of studies. Post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, ...
Exposure to several common infections over time may be associated with risk of stroke
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Cumulative exposure to five common infection-causing pathogens may be associated with an increased risk of stroke, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the January 2010 print issue of Archives of ...
Estrogen and stroke risk
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Eighteen years ago this month the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it would sponsor a landmark study to examine women and cardiovascular disease. Known as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the study enrolled ...
Statins may prevent blood clots in patients with cardiovascular disease
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Statins may provide potentially life-saving benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease by helping reduce the incidence of blood clots. New research presented at the 75th annual international scientific assembly of ...
Statins may worsen symptoms in some cardiac patients
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Although statins are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients. A new study presented ...
Study targets stroke prevention in children with sickle cell anemia
Oct 28, 2009 |
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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators were recently awarded a $23 million federal grant to launch a national study of the drug hydroxyurea to prevent first strokes in children and adolescents with sickle cell ...
Research: Migraine increases stroke risk
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Migraine with aura (temporary visual or sensory disturbances before or during a migraine headache) is associated with a twofold increased risk of stroke, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. Further ...
