Related topics: brain , patients , ischemic stroke , heart attack , heart disease
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 Web tool may help predict risk of second stroke
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Scientists have developed a new web-based tool that may better predict whether a person will suffer a second stroke within 90 days of a first stroke, according to research published in the December 16, 2009, online issue ...
Helping hands
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In capstone project, mechanical engineering students apply innovative and collaborative skills to create a rehab glove that stroke patients can use at home
Antidepressants may increase risk of stroke and death
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 14, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Postmenopausal women who take antidepressants face a small but statistically significant increased risk for stroke and death compared with those who do not take the drugs. The new findings are from the federally-funded, multi-institution, ...
Finding the Achilles' heel of cancer
Dec 10, 2009 |
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A never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University ...
Ecstasy may be linked to sleep apnea
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 02, 2009 |
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New research shows that recreational users of the drug known as ecstasy may be at a higher risk for sleep apnea. The study is published in the December 2, 2009, online issue of Neurology.
Death from childhood stroke
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Stroke is an important cause of childhood morbidity and is in the top ten causes of childhood death. For the first time, new research has looked at trends in death from childhood stroke in ...
Preventing repeat strokes -- are survivors taking their medicine?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Since 1999, stroke survivors have been advised to use aspirin, prescription antiplatelet agents, or prescription anticoagulants to help avoid another stroke. Many large surveys of the U.S. population have reported the use ...
Americans born in the South may have a higher risk of dying from stroke as adults
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 30, 2009 |
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The "stroke belt" has a tight hold. People born in the Southern stroke belt have a higher risk of dying from stroke as adults, even if they later move away, compared to people who were born in other parts of the country. ...
Dentists can help to identify patients at risk of a heart attack
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Dentists can help to identify patients who are in danger of dying of a heart attack or stroke, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. Thanks to the study, six men who thought they were completely healthy were able ...
Moderate-to-heavy exercise may reduce risk of stroke for men
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Men who regularly take part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, such as walking, golfing, ...
Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Women who store fat on their waist in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy.
New understanding about mechanism for cell death after stroke leads to possible therapy
Nov 22, 2009 |
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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 ...
