What causes stroke

What causes stroke is a partially solved medical puzzle and needs to finish a way long journey. Stroke, also called as cerebrovascular accident, is a medical condition that can be a result of interrupted blood circulation to the brain. Due to the absence of blood supply and oxygen, the functions of the brain are impaired and the brain will eventually die off depending on the time of the circulation failure. Stroke is a leading killer disease in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Stroke is mainly classified into two types based on the pathology of the disease. They are: ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The ischemic stroke is a condition in which the blood supply is decreased or ceased by the presence of blood clots and cholesterol/fat plaques in the blood vessels. These blood clots can block the supply of the blood and oxygen to the brain. The hemorrhagic stroke is caused by the leakage or burst of the blood vessels supplying blood. The incidence of stroke is preventable by medical, nutritional and lifestyle factors.

Causes 

Some of the main causes of stroke are blocks in the carotid artery, heart disease, aneurysm, aging, familial history of stroke or heart disease with or without diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure, smoking, male gender, vitamin K deficiency, clotting disorders caused by autoimmune diseases, alcohol, sedentary lifestyles, consumption of high fat/cholesterol diets with saturated fats and some of the untreated deep head injuries. Other causes of stroke are some forms of coagulopathies by autoimmune disorder, anemia such as sickle cell anemia, atrial fibrillation, venous thrombosis, all types of endocarditis, some drugs such as amphetamine and cocaine.

Symptoms

• Headache

• Profuse sweating

• Numbness in face, arms and hands

• Delirium

• Dizziness

• Vertigo-like symptoms

• Difficulty in breathing

• Urinary and/or fecal incontinence

• Lack of coordination

• Slurring speech

• Lack of taste, heat and cold sensations

Diagnosis

• Laboratory test such as complete blood count

• Bleeding time, clotting time, absolute platelet count, prothrombin time or partial thromboplastin time

• Lipid profile and blood glucose level estimations

• ECG, angiogram, Echocardiogram, CT and/or MRI of brain, carotid duplex to estimate the rate of blood flow in the blood vessels, etc.

Treatment Options

The main treatment option for stroke is the clot busters that can breakdown the clots in the blood vessels and hence the incidence of stroke or the further brain damage can be prevented. Some of the clot busters such as Streptokinase, Streptodornase, urokinase, heparin, and coumarin with aspirin can be given. Some of the patients may need surgical treatment for the removal of the ruptured blood vessel. The post-stroke treatment may include occupational therapy and speech therapy (if there is an extensive brain damage) and stroke rehabilitation may also be required.

Prognosis

The prognosis of the stroke pathology depends on the underlying medical condition and the age. Mostly, stroke attacks are drug-responsive and unless there is a remission, the survival rate can be increased. In some post-stroke patients, the degree of nerve damage is more and they need other supporting therapies such as speech and occupational therapy. After these treatments, they can lead the life independently like the others.

When to see a doctor

Stroke is a medical emergency and it needs immediate medical attention. If you experience abnormal headache with dizziness, difficult to breath, pain in the chest, sweating, vision changes, loss of coordination, numbness or weakness in the left hand, face or back or if you experience any abnormality symptoms even after you took medicines or if you feel the home care is not useful to treat your symptoms, you need to see a medical doctor immediately.