So I have sat down severally to consider how to begin this post about something that saddens me a lot. Currently rotating through the CT Imaging unit and I get to see a whole lot of brain CTs with a stroke mostly, and a few other with other pathologies. One very common omen amongst these stroke victims is that they are aware they are hypertensive or diabetdiabetic but have absconded takeing their medications and this would be almost justifiable when they say to me, the " Hypertension left me"..
I am always stunned when I hear that, from someone who currently can't move a part of their body or has suffered a very bad brain injury.
The brain is a soft tissue mass of delicate and densely compacted neurons and each are designated for specific parts of the body. They ve also got special blood supplies and if blocked or ruptured will lead to both loss of function, death and even mass effect which means the dead or affected tissue can send pressure on other initially unaffected surrounding tissues which worsens the outcome of stroke.
The best approach to stroke is to prevent it, if it happens once , it can happen again and again.
There are two kinds of stroke, first is the ischemic stroke which means that it is cause by a blockage of blood flow to a brain tissue. This could be either because the blood vessel was blocked or narrowed to cause death of the tissue suffered.
When this happens, either the part being controlled loses its function or there is a reduce function, weakness or paralysis.
This ischemic stroke can also be transient where the blockage is for a very short time but has some effect too which don't last more than a day.
When a transient ischemic stroke happens, it is a warning that something more can happen. But when a big blockage occurs, that could be even more injurious and fatal.
The other type of stroke is the heamorragic stroke, here some vessels are known to break, not block and when this happens there could have been either a rupture of an aneurysm or a vessel breaks under pressure.
For which ever the case, Hypertension is a very strong risk factor along side diabetes, bleeding disorders, heart disease and some other specific diseases.
A stroke will present in many different ways that's if the person survives it. If it happens in the wrong part of the brain it can lead to instant death and this is often taken to be the end as very few people go on to do an autopsy.
However, when it does lead to death, it could result in loss of function of some part of the body, it could be the general left side or the right side, with or without facial deviation and weakness.
It may leave such a person unable to move either left or right and bed ridden.
What's striking is that they may have been totally healthy the previous day before a sudden stroke happens.
Most strokes happen at some specific times, some hemorrhagic stroke may be said to happen more in the mornings, because of a peak of the blood pressure at that time while is chemical stroke may just be anytime, which can include mornings as well.
Preventing is will always be far better than treating, and so here are a few tips on how to prevent stroke.
Please share with your loved ones.
Lifestyle Changes:
Exercise regularly: Aim for about 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. This will make your heart healthy and burn of storage of excess fat which may predispose you to thrombosis and stroke.
Maintain healthy weight: BMI between 18.5-24.9.
Eat a balanced diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins.
Limit sodium intake: <2,300 mg/day.
Stay hydrated: Drink 8-10 glasses of water/day.
Manage stress: Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, socialize.
Medical Management:
Monitor blood pressure: <130/80 mmHg.
Control diabetes: Manage blood sugar levels if you have diabetes mellitus.
Lower cholesterol: LDL <100 mg/dL. You may have to see your Dr for review of your cholesterol levels.
Manage any heart issues quickly: Consult doctor.
- Get regular check-ups.
Risk Factor Reduction:
- Quit smoking.
- Limit alcohol consumption: <2 drinks/day (men), <1 drink/day (women).
- Avoid illicit drugs.
- Manage sleep apnea.
- Get vaccinated (e.g., flu, pneumonia).
Now here are some subtle warning signs you must look out for to know if anyone is having a stroke. They are important because the earlier they can get help from the Doctor the best their chances of surviving.
These warning signs are simplified as FAST.
F - Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of their face droop?
A - Arm: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S - Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Is their speech slurred or difficult to understand?
T - Time: Time is of the essence. Act F-A-S-T.
Above all these, it is very important to know your family history and keep up with those preventive practices listed above.
Remember, prevention is key!
Remember, it can happen to anyone!
About Me:
Hi, I am Dr John Ogbuehi, aka, Jaydr on hive, I write health awareness and medical content on the Med-Hive Community. Other things I do is singing and making music, and making my voice of truth heard out there on other matters that concerns humanity.
Omg, this is such a useful article. I have worked as an occupational therapist for many years with people with brain damage. Most of them were due to stroke, so I know well everything you have described here. It is a silent epidemic that we can prevent with regular check-ups and healthy habits, although no one is free to let it happen to us for more hidden causes and on which we cannot act. Thank you for this reminder so that we can take care of our health before losing it.
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Thank you @palomap3 .
It is interesting that you can relate to most of this, anyone who has given so much to saving lives like you sacrificially do will understand.
Thank you so much.
This is a lovely much needed reminder to take health seriously. I do have a question though, how does getting vaccinated reduce one's risk of having a stroke?
There are research papers proving that influenza vaccine help reduce ischemic stroke occurrences. Same goes for pneumococal vaccines.
It was an interesting finding to me as well.
fascinating.
Could you reference those papers? Would love to take a look myself
I could, but I ll love you to do your own research. lol
Dr. O! (Permit me to call you this). This is a lovely article. Very educational. I like how well you simplified the terms✨.
This reminds me of a mild argument I had with a friend about strokes. The patient she presented suffered from left sided-stroke for a while and along the line, severe abdominal pains began. My point of argument was that there is usually an underlying issue; hypertension, diabetes and whatnot when stroke is involved but she didn't seem to agree. On further consult with a resident doctor, he said that more often than not, there are underlying issues and the abdominal pains could be as a result of a failure/ distress of one of the abdominal organs. Is this absolutely true?
For the sake of the word absolute, it is safe to say it could be anything.
But I ll start by saying what could be true.
It is true that the various complications of hypertension don't wait for each other, they happen simultaneously.
It is also true that a person can have multiple complications of hypertension, stroke in the brain, eye retinopathies, heart issues and even kidney problems, as well as the micro vessels issues which compounds the matter.
Abdominal pain while having a stroke may or may not end up being stroke related as that will require proper re evaluation to know just what ties it up.
Every stroke patient is at risk of more morbidities and so require a multidisciplinary approach, this means that several professionals may be needed to approach their management, the dieticians, the physiotherapist, the neurologist etc.
I hope the person got better.
Oh, this has been so helpful. Thank you.
Sadly, the person didn't get any better.
I m glad this was helpful.
There should be other releases as the topic of stroke is a whole lot more than a post.
I hope to write on a bit of stroke management and post stroke recovery as well, taking some cue from your question.
Please share if you have some more.
Oh, I like how this is going:)
So, some people worry that having a stroke is usually the last resort. Is this always the case? Because I've heard of and seen quite a number of people who died a year or two after having a stroke.
Can the deaths be attributed to poor management of the stroke or something else?
You name for me tho, .. Are you into health practice?
Oh yes. I'm an interning/ student nurse.
I could smell it from here. 😅
😄😄
Didn't think it was that obvious
My medical sense is sharp, sorry.
Not everyone can argue about diagnosis or have assess to a Resident.
Oh that is impressive.
🎉 Upvoted 🎉
👏 Keep Up the good work on Hive ♦️ 👏
❤️ @palomap3 suggested sagarkothari88 to upvote your post ❤️
You lost me at get vaccinated.
Oh, you re welcome.