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
Indian Spice Reduces Size of Hemorrhagic Stroke
Sep 22, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (30) |
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You might want to make curcumin part of your daily diet. This active ingredient of the Indian curry spice, turmeric, not only lowers your chances of getting cancer and Alzheimer's disease, but may reduce the ...
Machine Translates Thoughts into Speech in Real Time
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
15 hours ago |
4.8 / 5 (24) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- By implanting an electrode into the brain of a person with locked-in syndrome, scientists have demonstrated how to wirelessly transmit neural signals to a speech synthesizer. The "thought-to-speech" ...
Mouse studies suggest daily dose of ginkgo may prevent brain cell damage after a stroke
Oct 09, 2008 |
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Working with genetically engineered mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that daily doses of a standardized extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree can prevent or reduce brain damage after an induced stroke.
Eating fish may prevent memory loss and stroke in old age
Aug 04, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (13) |
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Eating tuna and other types of fish may help lower the risk of cognitive decline and stroke in healthy older adults, according to a study published in the August 5, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the Am ...
Evidence appears to show how and where frontal lobe works
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Mar 02, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (10) |
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(Physorg.com) -- A Brown University study of stroke victims has produced evidence that the frontal lobe of the human brain controls decision-making along a continuum from abstract to concrete, from front to ...
Australian stroke victim walks again - with help of botox
Jun 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (9) |
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An Australian stroke victim paralysed for more than 20 years has walked again thanks to anti-wrinkle drug botox, in a case hailed as extraordinary by his medical team.
Robotic technology improves stroke rehabilitation
Dec 03, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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Research scientists using a novel, hand-operated robotic device and functional MRI (fMRI) have found that chronic stroke patients can be rehabilitated, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological ...
Do you know you're having a stroke?
Nov 25, 2008 |
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A Mayo Clinic study shows a majority of stroke patients don't think they're having a stroke -- and as a result -- delay seeking treatment until their condition worsens. The findings appear in the current issue of Emergency Me ...
New hope for stroke patients
Aug 25, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
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If a stroke patient doesn't get treatment within approximately the first three hours of symptoms, there's not much doctors can do to limit damage to the brain.
Mediterranean diet is healthy for your heart: study
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (8) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A major new study by researchers at McMaster University clarifies what foods and dietary patterns are best for reducing the risk of heart disease.
Studies suggest drinking coffee or tea may reduce the risk of stroke
Mar 22, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (8) |
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The role coffee and tea play in a person's risk of having a stroke got a little clearer recently as two large observational studies found that the beverages may actually provide a modest amount of protection.
The brain's reserve cells can be activated after stroke
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have found a way of activating the neuronal reserves in the brains of mice by switching off the signal that inhibits the formation of new ...
Treadmill exercise retrains brain and body of stroke victims
Aug 28, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
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People who walk on a treadmill even years after stroke damage can significantly improve their health and mobility, changes that reflect actual "rewiring" of their brains, according to research spearheaded at Johns Hopkins.
Unusual case of a woman who suffered stroke during sex
Sep 15, 2008 |
3.1 / 5 (7) |
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Minutes after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend, a 35-year-old woman suddenly felt her left arm go weak. Her speech became slurred and she lost feeling on the left side of her face.
New target discovered to treat epileptic seizures following brain trauma or stroke
Dec 05, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
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New therapies for some forms of epilepsy may soon be possible, thanks to a discovery made by a team of University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute neuroscience researchers.
