What is stroke?
Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the blood vessels leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs and starts to die.
What are the different types of stroke?
There are two main types of stroke: ischemic (is-KEM-ik) and intracerebral hemorrhage (HEM-er-rij).
Ischemic Stroke:
- What is it? Ischemic stroke is the most common kind of stroke, accounting for about 85% of all strokes.
- What causes it? Clots that block a blood vessel can cause ischemic strokes. These clots can be caused by several different kinds of diseases. The most common is narrowing of the blood vessels in the neck or head.
Intracerebral Hemorrhage:
- What is it? Intracerebral (meaning within the brain) hemorrhage occurs when a diseased blood vessel within the brain bursts, allowing blood to leak inside the brain. The sudden increase in pressure within the brain can cause damage to the brain cells surrounding the blood.
- What causes it? The most common cause of intracerebral hemorrhage is high blood pressure (hypertension). Since high blood pressure by itself often causes no symptoms, many people with intracerebral hemorrhage are not aware that they have high blood pressure, or that it needs to be treated. Less common causes of intracerebral hemorrhage include trauma, infections, tumors, blood not clotting properly, and problems in blood vessels.
What are common impairments following stroke?
- Spasticity is like a "wicked charley horse". Sometimes muscles will involuntarily contract (shorten or flex) when you try to move your limb, creating stiffness and tightness.
- Balance provides stability when walking, standing, or sitting. About 40% of stroke survivors have serious falls within 1 year of their stroke.
- Hemiparesis is weakness on one side of the body.
- Hemiplegia is paralysis on one side of the body.
- Aphasia is the inability to understand or create speech, writing, or language due to damage to the speech centers of the brain.
- Neglect is decreased attention and awareness of one side of the body.
- Dysarthria is a language disorder characterized by difficulty with speaking or forming words.
- Dysphagia is trouble with eating and swallowing.
- Urinary Tract Infection is an infection of the urethra, ureters, bladder, or kidney by bacteria. These occur in about 11% of stroke survivors during the first 3 months following stroke.
What are the warning signs of stroke?
Stroke is a medical emergency. Know these warning signs of stroke and teach them to others. Every second counts!
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
Images provided by NINDS/NIH Know Stroke Campaign