Stroke
What is Stroke?
A stroke occurs when a part of the brain is damaged due to a lack of blood supply to that part of the brain. In minor strokes, the damage is only in a small portion of the brain. In major strokes, a large part of the brain is damaged. As a result of the damage, that part of the body controlled by that part of the brain does not function normally. The larger the area of damage, the more deficits the patient will have. Unlike other cells in the body, brain cells that die from stroke are unable to re-grow into new cells.
What causes Stroke?
Lack of blood supply to a part of the brain is usually caused by a blockage of a blood vessel called ‘artery’ in the brain. Such a blockage results in an “ischaemic stroke”. Less commonly, the lack of blood supply is due to a bursting of an artery, resulting in a “haemorrhagic stroke”. A haemorrhagic stroke can be due to the rupture of a blood vessel which has ballooned because of weak walls (aneursym), or an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) which is an abnormality in the structure of the blood vessels.
What happens when you have Stroke?
As a result of the damage to the brain cells, the following may be experienced:
- Weakness or numbness of one side of the body
- Slurred speech, difficulty in speaking
- Loss of vision, double vision
- Unsteadiness in walking, uncoordinated movements
- Giddiness together with one of the above symptoms
- he worst headache in your life
- Loss of consciousness, coma
Please seek urgent medical attention if you experience any of the above symptoms.
Are you at Risk?
Stroke risks are higher in people who fall into these categories:
- 40 years old and above – but even younger people can get stroke
- Male
- History of high blood pressure
- History of diabetes mellitus
- History of high cholesterol
- History of irregular heart beat
- Smokes
- Excessive alcohol use
- History of previous stroke or TIA
- Hormonal changes with pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause are also linked to an increased risk of stroke
You can do a lot to reduce your stroke risk. See a doctor at least once a year for a medical check-up if you are over 40 years old. Take all prescribed medications.
How can Stroke be prevented?
The more stroke risk factors you have, the greater the chance that you will have a stroke. You cannot control some risk factors, such as aging, family health history, race and gender. But you can change or treat other risk factors to lower your risk by:
- Early detection and treatment of high blood pressure
- Early detection and treatment of diabetes mellitus
- Early detection and treatment of high blood cholesterol
- Not smoking
- Limiting alcohol intake
- Taking prescribed medication for previous stroke or TIA
- Adopting a healthy lifestyle
How can a Stroke be treated?
- Monitoring - While in the hospital, your condition will be closely monitored – about 20% of patients get worse in the next few hours to days after the onset of the stroke. Very high blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol will need to be lowered by dietary control and even medication. Those who are unable to swallow food and water safely may need to be fed through a tube through the nose.
- Rehabilitation - Rehabilitation is a process that aims to get you to be independent in your daily activities. This starts as soon as possible, through physical, occupational and speech therapy.
- Medication - In ischaemic stroke, the use of “blood thinners” such as “anti-platelet” and "anti-coagulant" medications do reduce the risk of a stroke occurring again.
- Surgery - If there is severe narrowing in a neck artery leading to a minor stroke or “transient ischaemic attack” (TIA), surgery to remove the narrowing (carotid endarterectomy) will reduce the risk of another stroke.
Patient Education Guide
(Downloadable in pdf format)