STROKE Part 1
Today we shall be discussing a very serious medical condition known as stroke. Like we already know stroke is a major killer and one of the major causes of disability in the population.
What is stroke?
Stroke is that medical emergency used to be known as a Cerebro-Vascular accident (CVA) . The term CVA has now being dropped for STROKE. Stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain or part of the brain is restricted or cut off . Like all organs, the brain needs oxygen and nutrients provided by blood to function properly and when the blood supply is compromised the brain cells begin to die eventually leading to brain damage and eventually brain death if the compromise is not arrested. The brain tissue ceases to function if deprived of oxygen for more than 60 to 90 seconds and after approximately three hours it will suffer irreversible injury possibly leading to death of the tissue. This death of the tissue is known as infarction.
If a blood vessel supplying blood and oxygen to the brain is blocked , for example by a blood clot preventing any blood reaching a part of the brain a stroke will occur. This type of stroke is known as ischaemic stroke and this constitutes more than 80% of all cases of stroke. There is also the other type of stoke which constitutes about 20% of all cases of stroke which occurs when a blood vessel is damaged and blood leaks out into the brain tissue. This is known as the haemorrhagic stroke
There are other important facts about stroke that i want us to be aware of as follows:
Prompt treatment is crucial and essential
The sooner a person receives treatment for a stroke, the less damage is likely to happen.
Stroke is currently the second leading cause of death in the western world ranking after heart disease
It causes 10% of deaths worldwide.
Evidence shows that stroke will soon become the commonest cause of death worldwide
It is the greatest single cause of severe disability in most countries of the world
Anybody can suffer a stroke irrespective of age, sex or race
The incidence of stroke increases rapidly from 30 years of age
95% of strokes occur in people age 45 and older
Two-thirds of strokes occur in those over the age of 65
A person's risk of dying if he or she does have a stroke also increases with age.
if you have a first-degree relative who had a stroke at an early age (under 50) you're at higher risk
Having had a stroke in the past greatly increases one's risk of future strokes.
Men are 25% more likely to suffer strokes than women
60% of deaths from stroke occur in women.
The risk of stroke is higher in Africans, Carribeans and Asians
Moving forward, let us look at who is at risk of developing stroke.
* Those suffering from blood pressure (hypertension) are more liable to developing stroke. Infact hypertension causes about 35-50% cases of strokes
* Smokers are also at increased risk of developing stroke
* Those suffering from Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes) have 2-3 fold increased risk of stroke.
* Those whose cholesterol level is high has a two fold risk of developing stroke.
* Those who have problem with their heart rhythm problem known as Atrial Fibrillation (AF) have a very high risk of developing stroke
* Those suffering from Sickle cell disease also have are at risk of developing stroke. About 10-15% of children with this disease suffer stroke.
* childbirth also puts women at risk of developing stroke
*Menopause also puts women at risk of developing stroke, the risk is increased in those on hormonal replacement therapy (HRT)
* Those who have suffered a previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are also more liable to developing stroke
* Old Age-- The older one gets the more liable he/she is to developing stroke.
How can stroke be recognised? By this i mean the signs and symptoms of stroke.
The functions of the different parts of the body are controlled by different parts of the brain, so the symptoms vary depending on
* The part of the brain affected
* The size of the brain affected
* Duration in which the brain part is starved of oxygen and blood.
To be continued……
Thanks for reading
Dr Chin Akano
