Stroke

Good morning steemians, today am gonna be educating you about stroke, their symptoms, and some ways to take care of a patient inflicted with this disease.

WHAT IS STROKE:

Stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death.

OR

A stroke happens when blood flow is occluded in a part of the brain. The lack of oxygen damages the brain cells that can have potentially disabling effects on the patient.

THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF STROKES:

ischemic this is due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, this is caused due to bleeding. Both result in some part of the brain not working as the should.

SIGNS

signs of stroke varies in persons, or atleast it varies depending of the part of the brain that is deprived oxygented blood.
but here are some of the symptoms you should look out for

• Dizziness

• A sudden and severe headache unlike any experienced before, especially if associated with neck stiffness

• Blacking out

• Sudden loss of vision sometimes blurred vision

• Difficulty in understanding what others are saying

• Problems with balance and coordination (sometimes is cause one side of the body to be totally numb or the patient may lack feeling there)

• Difficulty swallowing (patient will find it difficult to eat or to swallow cause of the paralyzes involved in having stroke)

• Numbness or weakness that can cause complete paralysis

Now the question that comes to mind is what cause stroke, am going to some of the cause

• Smoking (this also kidney failure)

• High blood pressure (you should avoid things that will make you think much)

• Obesity (working out help reduce the risk of this, or atleast smearing balanced diet)

• Cholesterol levels

• Diabetes (if someone in your family or extended family has this, you too are at the risk of having it. Go for test and avoid things that may likely give you this)

• Excessive alcohol intake (avoid this, this affect the lungs)

• Stress (try to work in a place with low stress environment)

Some treatment for this disease

Thrombolysis
Once a stroke has been diagnosed, treatment can begin immediately. Ischaemic strokes can be treated using injections of a medication called alteplase that dissolves the clot and restores blood to the brain and is known as thrombolysis.

Thrombectomy
A small proportion of severe ischaemic strokes (i.e. ones in the large arteries of the brain) can be treated by an emergency procedure known as thrombectomy that is used to remove the clot and restore blood flow. It is performed by inserting a catheter into an artery, usually the groin, containing a device that is then passed through the catheter to remove the clot.

Anticoagulant Medications
Anticoagulants are types of drugs that manipulate the blood coagulation process (the so-called plasmatic coagulation). They inhibit thrombus formation, meaning that they prevent blood clots from forming too easily. Anticoagulants generally include novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs)

What are anticoagulants?
Anticoagulants may play an important role in prophylaxis of embolic strokes that are related to AF. All of these have different ways of working. Due to the pharmacological mode of action, the use of anticoagulants may be associated with an increased risk of occult or overt bleeding from any tissue or organ which may results in post haemorrhagic anaemia. The signs, symptoms and severity will vary according to the location (e.g. blood in urine, severe bruising) and degree or extent of the bleeding and/ or anaemia. Your doctor will work out which anticoagulant is right for you based on the indication and the presence of any other medical conditions. All licensed anticoagulants deliver a positive benefit risk profile. Although all anticoagulants can increase the risk of bleeding, strategies are available to reduce or stop bleeding.

Antiplatelet Medication
After the clot has been dissolved or removed, most people will be offered aspirin, which as well as being a painkiller, is also an antiplatelet that reduces the chances of another clot forming.

Antiplatelet medications are not used to treat AF-related stroke unlike other forms of thrombosis because the blood that pools and clots in the ventricles do not involve platelets but different clotting mechanisms.

Please note that aspirin is no longer recommended as a safe and effective stroke prevention therapy for people with AF, and should only be used in people who are unable to take oral anticoagulants. If you are taking aspirin for stroke prevention, speak with your doctor as you may be at increased risk of stroke.

Antihypertensive Medication
If your blood pressure is too high, you may be offered medicines to lower it including thiazide diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers or alpha-blockers.

Statins
If the level of cholesterol in your blood is too high, you will be advised to take statins to reduce it.

Carotid endarterectomy
Some ischaemic strokes are caused by the narrowing of the artery in the neck called the carotid artery caused by atherosclerotic fatty deposit build-up. In this case surgery may be offered to remove the atherosclerotic plaque build-up.

Haemorrhagic strokes
The second type of stroke is haemorrhagic where blood bleeds out of a weakened artery in the brain. Haemorrhagic strokes can be treated with both surgery and medication. Sometimes blood from the brain will need to be surgically removed in a procedure known as a craniotomy. In addition, medication will be offered to lower their blood pressure, and if anticoagulants were taken before the haemorrhagic stroke their effects will need to be reversed.

Rate controllers (antiarrhythmic drugs)- rate-control medications help slow the heart rate to its regular beating pattern These medications are used for most patients to relieve the symptoms of AF. Rate control is the initial approach adopted in treating elderly patients and those with minor AF symptoms.

What is Atrial Fibrillation?
In the article it mentions rate and rhythm controllers, these are used to help manage atrial fibrillation
Read more about Atrial Fibrillation Rhythm controllers (antiarrhythmic drugs)- rhythm controllers help re-establish and maintain the heart’s rhythm. These medications are recommended for young symptomatic patients and in patients with AF in whom other corrective measures have not been successful.

Electrical cardioversion - low energy shocks are given to the heart to try to return it to a normal rhythm.

Radiofrequency or catheter ablation - this procedure aims to block the abnormal parts of a heart’s electrical rhythm. These techniques are used when medicines or cardioversion do not work.

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