A stroke is a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. A heart attack is results from a disruption of blood to the heart. A stroke can be called a brain attack, since the blood supply to the brain is affected. A stroke is every bit as serious as a heart attack.
Harold Adams, MD, director of the University of Iowa Stroke Center, at UI Hospitals and Clinics, talks about strokes:
What risk factors are considered uncontrollable factors in stroke prevention?
There are several factors associated with an increased risk of stroke. The most important of these is advancing age. The older the individual, the higher the risk of stroke.
Other factors include:
- Ethnicity—the risk of stroke is much higher among African-Americans
- Sex—Men have a higher risk of stroke than women, although the majority of people who have stroke in this country are women because women live longer than men
- Family history—if a family member has had a stoke the risk factor increases.
There is no specific intervention to lower these stroke risks, but it is important information suggesting that a person may be at higher risk.
Are there risk factors people can control to prevent a stroke?
Yes, there are and those are very important to identify early and to treat early.
The most important of these is high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the single-most important, treatable risk factor for stroke. If we can lower blood pressure effectively, we can make a major impact at lowering the risk of stroke.
Other important risk factors are:
Smoking—if somebody stops smoking, within five years their risk of stroke declines to that of somebody who has never smoked.
Other risk factors include:
- Diabetes mellitus
- High cholesterol,
Both of these can be treated with lifestyle changes or medications.
Do controllable risk factors (like smoking or alcohol) increase the risk in those with other uncontrollable factors (like gender and race), causing that person to be a greater risk to suffer a stroke earlier in their lifetime?
Yes, they do. Even if there’s a strong family history of stroke, we can lower the risk of stroke in by addressing aggressively the treatment of those risk factors: high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and cholesterol.
What steps should everyone take today to prevent a stroke?
The most important step is to see a physician and have those identifiable risk factors addressed. That is having a blood cholesterol check, getting a measurement for your blood glucose, and getting your blood pressure checked.
Getting those under control with diet, lifestyle changes, or medications are important. Another thing that an individual can do to lower the risk of stroke is to not smoke. There is some mixed information about alcohol: low amounts of alcohol are acceptable; large amounts of alcohol are dangerous. Lifestyle changes, close attention with their doctor, having their risk factors addressed and treated are the best ways to lower the risk of stroke.
What are the signs or symptoms of a stroke?
The signs and symptoms of a stroke reflect the injury to that part of the brain. It can be of sudden onset—that’s where the term stroke comes from—and reflect the part of the brain that is injured. The most common symptoms are:
- Paralysis or weakness in one side of the body,
- Slurred speech
- Difficulty finding words,
- Loss of vision in one or both eyes
- Severe sense of imbalance or staggering or spinning
- Sudden severe headache
If those symptoms are of sufficient severity, people should seek medical attention as quickly as possible.
Are stroke victims aware or able to tell they are having any of the symptoms?
They may or may not. Patients may not recognize what is happening to them. A stroke obviously affects the brain and therefore affects awareness and thinking;. It’s important, not only that the individual who may be at risk of stroke knows the warning symptoms, but family members, neighbors, co-workers, etc., know the signs and symptoms of stroke.
What should someone do if they suspect someone around them is having a stroke?
The most important thing is to get them to a hospital immediately. We have interventions that can improve outcomes after stroke if these are given within the first few minutes or hours after the stroke. The best way is to call 9-1-1 to activate the emergency medical system.
How important is early treatment of a stroke?
We can improve outcomes with early treatment. These include clot-busting drugs which dissolve the clot in the artery of the brain or even interventions where the clot can be removed. We can improve outcomes considerably. There are people with acute stroke who have recovered completely from their event with early treatment.
If a stroke is treated early, will that person make a full recovery from their stroke?
It depends on the severity of the stroke and how soon we can intervene. Some patients may have a full recovery; other patients may have partial improvement. Any improvement, however, we consider success because our goal is to limit the amount of brain injury that has happened. |
