- About 700,000 Americans each year suffer a new or recurrent stroke. That means, on average, a stroke occurs every 45 seconds.
- Stroke kills nearly 164,000 people a year. That's about 1 of every 15 deaths. It's the No. 3 cause of death behind diseases of the heart and cancer.
- About every 3 minutes, someone dies of stroke.
- Americans will pay an estimated $54 billion in 2005 for stroke-related medical costs and disability.
What is a stroke?
A stroke is damage (of any degree) to the brain caused by lack of blood flow in brain blood vessels. Strokes occur when one on these blood vessels becomes blocked or damaged, preventing blood flow to a part of the brain.
Brain tissue depends on a continuous supply of oxygen and glucose to keep neurons (nerve cells) alive. During a stroke, brain tissue is cut off from its supply of oxygen and within 3-4 minutes, neurons begin to die. Without immediate help, significant brain damage can occur. A stroke is a "brain attack". In a stroke, time is brain.
Kinds of stroke
There are two major categories of stroke. Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a weakened blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures. About 20% of strokes are hemorrhagic. Ischemic strokes occur when blood vessels in the brain are blocked, usually by a clot, but also by atherosclerotic narrowing. About 80% of strokes are ischemic.
What happens after a stroke?
The results of a stroke depend very much upon how much brain is damaged and what parts of the brain are damaged. Given that the brain is what controls our thoughts, emotions, actions, and our body, the after-effects of a stroke can influence a person's whole life. Effects can be subtle, such as memory impairment, problems with thinking, or a change in emotional regulation. Effects can be all-encompassing, such as paralysis, loss of speech, or numbness.
Brain Attack !!
The symptoms of a stroke usually occur quickly and can include:
- sudden numbness or weakness in the face or body, especially if on one side
- sudden confusion or sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech
- sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- sudden trouble walking, loss of balance or coordination, dizziness
- sudden severe headache with no known cause
A stroke is a medical emergency. The immediate response to seeing or experiencing any of the above symptoms is to call 9-1-1. The person should get to the nearest hospital or emergency room that specializes in stroke treatment. Remember every minute that the brain is deprived of oxygen, more brain cells die. Time is brain.
Treatment for strokes
Hemorrhagic strokes need to be treated quickly to prevent damage not only due to loss of blood flow to a part of the brain, but due to the pressure exerted by the leaking blood. As that volume of accumulated blood grows, it can compress and damage other parts of the brain. Ischemic strokes can often be treated with angioplasty to open narrowed blood vessels or with clot dissolving agents. Recently, the FDA has approved intravenous tPA (tissue Plasminogen Activator) as a treatment for stroke. Intravenous tPA can often reduce the clot and therefore reduce the severity of a stroke. However, it must be administered within 3 hours to be effective.
An exciting new development in the treatment of strokes may provide a few more precious hours to treat these devastating brain attacks. By threading a thin catheter into the blocked blood vessel, it is possible the deliver the clot-busting agent, tPA, directly into the blood clot. By use of intra-arterial tPA administration, physicians can literally dissolve the clot and save as many as two-thirds of stroke patients from ever suffering the devastating effects of a stroke. Brain SPECT imaging can play an important role in interventional stroke cases by providing quantitative information that can identify the extent and severity of the stroke damage initially and track the effectiveness of the initial intervention and follow-up treatments. This provides valuable prognostic information for both treatment and rehabilitation purposes.
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