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( Stroke)
A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. This can be due to ischemia (lack of blood supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage. As a result, the affected area of the brain is unable to function, leading to inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, inability to understand or formulate speech or inability to see one side of the visual field.[1] In the past, stroke was referred to as cerebrovascular accident or CVA, but the term "stroke" is now preferred. A stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications and death. It is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States and Europe. It is the number two cause of death worldwide and may soon become the leading cause of death worldwide.[2] Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, hypertension (high blood pressure), previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation.[3] High blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke.[1] The traditional definition of stroke, devised by the World Health Organization in the 1970s,[4] is a "neurological deficit of cerebrovascular cause that persists beyond 24 hours or is interrupted by death within 24 hours". This definition was supposed to reflect the reversibility of tissue damage and was devised for the purpose, with the time frame of 24 hours being chosen arbitrarily. The 24-hour limit divides stroke from transient ischemic attack, which is a related syndrome of stroke symptoms that resolve completely within 24 hours.[1] With the availability of treatments that, when given early, can reduce stroke severity, many now prefer alternative concepts, such as brain attack and acute ischemic cerebrovascular syndrome (modeled after heart attack and acute coronary syndrome respectively), that reflect the urgency of stroke symptoms and the need to act swiftly.[5] A stroke is occasionally treated with thrombolysis ("clot buster"), but usually with supportive care (speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy) in a "stroke unit" and secondary prevention with antiplatelet drugs (aspirin and often dipyridamole), blood pressure control, statins, and in selected patients with carotid endarterectomy and anticoagulation.[1]
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Stroke Subcategories
Stroke Articles
Organic Green Tea - Just What is Organic Anyway? by Kev Woodward
A traveller saw two fields of tea bushes at the side of the road. In one field, the farmer was happily picking the fresh green young leaves, however in the other, the farmer was spraying his plants to destroy the insects that were ruining his crop. S...
HIDDEN DANGERS OF HERBAL SEX PILLS: by Eze ThankGod
In the quest to satisfy his partner sexually, a man that takes sex pills like Viagra may actually be digging his own grave unconsciously. This is because, though these sex pills are marketed as healthy products, they contain some level of unregulated...
Stressed Out? by Melissa Allen
Small amounts of stress can be beneficial and healthy for us—it aids in bringing out things like ambition, motivation, and persistence. It can drive us. But when the delicate balance between healthy stress levels and dangerous stress levels favors th...
Young at Heart by Sandra Prior
I was 11, sitting at our kitchen table with my father and two sisters, when Dad's eyes suddenly rolled back in his head. He slumped and fell clean off his chair, hitting the cold tile floor with a thud. The three of us jumped up, shrieking, and I cal...
The Relationship between Stroke and Dental Health by I C
It has been estimated that every 45 seconds of what America has a stroke, in one split second well over 30,000 brain cells will have died after this devastating shock to the brain, in a matter of a minute an ischemic stroke will have killed over 1.9 ...
The Brain Equivalent of a Heart Attack - Stroke Information by I C
A stroke is a condition very similar to heart attack, the only difference is that instead of attacking the heart this one attacks the brain, every second after a person has suffer from a stroke a brain cell dies, this doesn't sound terrible since mos...
Stroke Signs by Steven Allen
The sooner that someone realizes they are on the path to a stroke,as with any illness the better.Steps can be implemented to avoid bad consequences. If a person is unfortunate and suffers a stroke beg...
Dangers of Excessive Body Fat by Gary Grewal
The common reason why people reduce weight is not only to look good but also to avoid the dangers of excessive body fat and being obese. Weight loss helps to be fit and healthy and also increases resistance power. Obesity is a health disorder and may...
Health Reasons For Losing Weight by Gary Grewal
When someone states that they want to lose weight, it can be due to several reasons. The most common reason for losing weight is aesthetic reasons or looking beautiful/handsome and fit. Unfortunately, sometimes this causes people to lose their comm...
High Blood Pressure: Causes,Symptoms,Treatment by Alexis Kenne
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is the result of two forces: from the heart as it pumps blood into the arteries and throughout the circulatory system, and the force of the arteries as...
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