May is Stroke Aware­ness Month

What happens during a stroke?

Usually, our brain tissue is supplied with oxygen and rich nutrients via the arteries in our skull and cranium. When the blood vessels in the head become blocked, narrowed, or have bleeding to an area, the blood flow and oxygen can be significantly decreased, causing cell death. However, with the right prevention, lifestyle, and quick action when symptoms arise, strokes can be mostly prevented.

Strokes tend to come without warning and don’t necessarily announce themselves like other types of illnesses. Some symptoms may be slight, such as dizziness or blurred vision. Maybe you have numbness to one side of your lip or a tingling sensation in your lower leg. There are numerous different signs and symptoms of a stroke, none of which should be overlooked. The acronym B.E.F.A.S.T. – loss of Balance, Eyes (loss of vision, blurry or double vision), Facial drooping, Arm or leg weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time to call emergency services is used as a benchmark for when to get help. If you experience any of these symptoms, please call 911 immediately (calling 911 is more beneficial than driving to the hospital yourself so that immediate care can start before you even reach the hospital).

Depending on the type of cells without oxygen and the portion of the brain it belongs to, your symptoms may manifest differently than someone else’s. The goal is to decrease the amount of tissue and cellular death so that you may recover fully. Research has shown that when a stroke occurs, the typical person loses 1.9 million neurons each minute that a stroke is left untreated. Certain patients are eligible to receive medication that can help stop the stroke or undergo a procedure to remove the clot causing the stroke depending on the situation. That’s why it is so important to BE FAST when recognizing the signs and symptoms of a stroke.

Different types of stroke

There are two different types of stroke- ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic is when a portion of your brain tissue is without blood and/or oxygen for some time. This is the most common type of stroke (about 85% of all strokes). This type of stroke can be caused by numerous different things, such as atherosclerotic plaque build-up in the arteries resulting from high cholesterol, uncontrolled high blood pressure, and/or a clot that traveled from a different part of your body (a clot formed by atrial fibrillation or other abnormalities in your heart). Hemorrhagic strokes are caused by a rupture of a blood vessel in your brain. The most common causes of hemorrhagic strokes are uncontrolled high blood pressure and aneurysm rupture.

What about a “mini-stroke”? A “mini-stroke” is a commonly used term to describe an event in which the patient had stroke symptoms that resolved within 24 hours, and no intervention was needed for recovery. This type of event is called a “Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA).” When a patient has a TIA there is no permanent damage that can be seen on brain imaging but it alerts the patient and medical team that there needs to be preventative measures in place so that a stroke doesn’t occur that then causes permanent damage. When a patient has a TIA, we must look at the entire patient to determine what risk factors are present and how/if we can control them.

How do I prevent a stroke?

Preventing a stroke comes down to the individual risk factors present. Some things we can control, others we cannot.

Non-modifiable risk factors include age, sex, and genetics.

Modifiable risk factors include Hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidemia (increased cholesterol and lipid levels causing atherosclerotic plaque build-up), atrial fibrillation, diabetes, hormonal therapy or oral birth control, diet, exercise, alcohol use, smoking, etc. These risk factors can be “modified” with the use of medication and lifestyle changes.

By modifying our modifiable risk factors with medications and/or lifestyle changes, we can significantly reduce our chance of having a stroke. As always, follow up with your primary care doctor to see if there’s anything you can do to further decrease your stroke risk.

Remember, BE FAST!