Everyone knows that a stroke is a dangerous and serious condition that can lead to complete paralysis and disability, or death. Cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or as we used to say, stroke has different types, and each of them has its own causes, symptoms and consequences. If a person has CVA this can lead to a large number of serious consequences. If the patient is faced with such a problem, he should be urgently assisted in the near future. Doctors developed charts using abbreviations to help you identify the approach or presence of a stroke. If you suspect someone has had a stroke, call a doctor immediately to prevent serious consequences.
In this article, we will tell you more about the types of stroke, their causes and symptoms.
Different Types Of Stroke
Actually, stroke can be of several types, such as
- Ischemic stroke;
- Hemorrhagic stroke;
- Transient Ischemic Attack (Mini-Stroke);
- Brain stem stroke;
- Cryptogenic stroke (stroke of unknown cause).
Warning Signs Of Stroke
To define a stroke, experts came up with the abbreviation F-A-S-T. Each of its letters is the first letter of the name of the stroke symptom. Let’s take a closer look at these symptoms:
- F – Facial drooping. If a person has had a stroke, one side of their face will be drooping and may also be numb. If you ask a stroke patient to smile, his smile will be crooked or only one-sided.
- A – Arm Weakness. Another symptom of a stroke is arm weakness and numbness. It usually only happens on one hand. If you ask a person having a stroke to raise both arms, they are likely to be able to raise only one arm.
- S – speech problems. It becomes difficult for a patient with a stroke to speak, their speech is difficult to make out.
- T – time to call 911: If you find one or even several of the above symptoms in yourself or your loved one, urgently call an ambulance.
A stroke is a dangerous condition. The sooner the doctor examines the patient, the more chances the patient will have for a favorable outcome of the situation.
1. Ischemic Stroke – What Is It
A lot of people have heard about ischemic strokes but they don’t know what is an ischemic stroke. It is a dangerous condition that occurs when a blood vessel cannot supply blood to the patient’s brain due to a blockage in the form of a blood clot. Most strokes are ischemic.
What are the Types of Ischemic Strokes?
There are two types of ischemic stroke: thrombotic and embolic.
- Thrombotic stroke. This type of stroke is associated with a blood clot that appears in an artery that is responsible for supplying blood to the human brain.
- Embolic strokes. Such a stroke occurs when in some part of the body a blood clot forms, which blocks the normal circulation of blood.
Who is at Risk?
The presence of the following factors increases the risk of stroke:
- Age over 60 years;
- Presence of hypertension, high cholesterol or diabetes; high blood pressure, heart disease, – arrhythmia;
- Smoking;
- The presence of ischemic stroke in relatives.
What are the Complications of Ischemic Strokes?
After a stroke, a patient can get complications. A stroke destroys brain cells. The more cells are damaged, the more serious the consequences can be. You can get complications. Stroke damages brain cells. Therefore, it is very important to get advice from a specialist who will determine the degree of brain damage and give recommendations on recovery.
If the complications of a stroke are not treated in time, the consequences may be as follows:
- The accumulation of fluid in the brain, swelling and hemorrhage;
- Convulsions;
- Memory loss;
- Difficulties in understanding people’s speech.
Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
The symptoms of an ischemic stroke depend on which part of the brain was affected. Most often, patients with ischemic stroke note the following symptoms:
- Sudden numbness of a part of the body or face;
- Weakness in any part of the body;
- confusion;
- Difficulties in speech and understanding the words of others;
- Dizziness;
- Problems related to the coordination of movement;
- Gait changes;
- Blurred vision or double vision.
Causes of Ischemic Strokes
The cause of ischemic stroke is plaque – a fatty substance. It accumulates in the arteries, which clogs the artery, preventing blood from circulating normally. This process is called atherosclerosis. When blood clots accumulate, the artery becomes blocked, causing an ischemic stroke.
There are several other causes of stroke, such as:
- Atrial fibrillation;
- Heart attack;
- Poor functioning of the heart valve;
- Damage to blood vessels in the neck;
- Poor blood clotting.
Treatment
In fact, in this situation, the method of treatment for ischemic stroke depends on how severe the situation is and whether there are concomitant chronic diseases.
If medical attention is started within three hours of an attack, specialists may administer a drug such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). With it, you can destroy a blood clot. However, not every patient can start such treatment.
Also, specialists can carry out procedures to remove a blood clot or administer drugs that will help to do this.
2. Hemorrhagic Stroke – Why It’s So Dangerous
A hemorrhagic stroke is another type of stroke that a patient may have. This type of stroke occurs due to bleeding in the brain, as a result of injury to nearby cells.
Experts note the existence of two types of hemorrhagic stroke. You can determine the type of hemorrhagic stroke by the area of bleeding.
Types of Hemorrhagic Strokes
- A subarachnoid hemorrhage affects the area between the patient’s brain and skull.
- Intracerebral hemorrhage is expressed as a hemorrhage inside the brain.
Who is at Risk?
The presence of the following factors increases the likelihood of this type of stroke:
- Age over 65;
- High cholesterol;
- Hypertension;
- The presence of diabetes;
- Obesity;
- Having a stroke in the past;
- The presence of a stroke in relatives;
- Smoking;
- Eating unhealthy food;
- Lack of physical activity;
- Complications after receiving a hemorrhagic stroke.
Complications of a Stroke:
- Hemorrhagic stroke can have complications in the form of:
- Convulsions;
- Memory lapses;
- Problems with thinking;
- Heart disease.
Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Symptoms of this condition usually worsen over a couple of minutes or hours, but subarachnoid hemorrhage can be quite sudden.
Among the symptoms, patients note:
- Severe migraine;
- Confusion;
- Nausea or vomiting;
- Increased sensitivity to light;
- Visual impairment;
- Loss of creation.
Causes of Hemorrhagic Strokes
Let us consider in more detail the reasons why this type of stroke can occur:
- The presence of hypertension;
- Head injury;
- Poor blood clotting;
- abnormal blood vessels (AVMs);
- The patient has an aneurysm (a weak area in a vessel that can rupture).
Treatment
- As a therapy in this case, drugs are used that can stop bleeding and reduce intracranial pressure. One of the methods of treatment may be surgery, which will help to avoid bleeding of the vessel in the future.
- In addition to medications and surgery, a blood transfusion may be indicated to the patient.
3. Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – Mini Stroke
Ischemic forms of stroke can also be in the form of a “mini-stroke” or TIA, which stands for; transient ischemic attack.
A mini-stroke is a blockage of blood flow to the patient’s brain. Symptoms may disappear in a couple of minutes or a day.
A TIA can be a signal that a full-fledged stroke with traces may soon happen if you do not see a doctor in time.
Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Symptoms of a such cva as mini-strokes may include:
- Numbness on one side of the body;
- Confusion;
- Dizziness;
- Loss of balance;
- Speech problems;
- Lack of understanding of the words of the interlocutor;
- visual impairment;
- Migraine.
A mini-stroke can occur due to the fact that the vessels that carry blood to the patient’s brain narrow. The formation of blood clots leads to a transient ischemic attack.
Causes of Transient Ischemic Attack
- Elderly age;
- Hypertension, high cholesterol;
- Diabetes;
- Heart diseases;
- Excess weight;
- Smoking;
- The presence of TIA in one of the relatives;
- The presence of atrial fibrillation.
Treatment
In this type of stroke, the patient is given therapy to prevent future strokes. Drugs that can be used in this case are antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants.
Let’s take a closer look at these treatments
- Taking the first type of medication helps prevent platelet aggregation and thus helps prevent a blood clot. Among the most popular drugs of this type are aspirin and clopidogrel.
- The second type of drugs helps to reduce the amount of proteins responsible for blood clotting. Among the popular drugs of this type are warfarin and dabigatran.
- Another treatment for this condition may be surgery to remove plaques in the carotid arteries, which are found in the neck.
4. Brain Stem Stroke – Stroke Without Warning Signs
Among types of these conditions, patients can get brain strokes. It occurs in the brainstem of patients. It affects both sides of the body. If a brainstem stroke occurs to a patient, he may become paralyzed without the ability to speak or move any parts of the body below the neck. Let’s talk about this condition.
Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Brain stem stroke symptoms may include:
- Dizziness;
- Violation of coordination of movement;
- Double vision;
- Difficulties with speech.
- Violation of the functions of the central nervous system, which affects blood pressure and breathing;
- Paralysis.
Causes of Brain Stem Stroke
Among the reasons that can cause this condition are:
- The presence of blood clots;
- Hemorrhages;
- Damage to the artery due to sharp turns of the head or neck.
Treatment
In this condition, the patient may be prescribed therapy aimed at breaking up blood clots so that the blood can move normally through the vessels. Such drugs will be effective if administered within a few hours of the onset of a stroke.
5. Cryptogenic Stroke – Stroke Of Unknown Cause
Now we need to keep talking about stroke types and their symptoms and consider the next type. Cryptogenic stroke is a condition that occurs due to ischemia in the cerebral part of the brain. This kind of condition can lead the patient to disability if he is not treated in time.
Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
The main symptoms of this condition are:
- Arrhythmia;
- Chest pain;
- Dizziness.
What causes cryptogenic stroke?
Possible causes of this type of stroke:
- Arrhythmia;
- Pathology of the cardiac structure;
- Hardening of the arteries;
- Poor blood clotting.
Treatment
Patients with this type of stroke usually have a combination of antiplatelet therapy and try to influence the factors that cause stroke in order to prevent a recurrent attack of cardioembolic origin.
Bottom Line
A stroke is a dangerous condition that can lead to severe consequences. If you are at risk and want to consult a doctor, visit our clinic’s website. Call us at (214) 619-1910, and make an appointment.
We treat various neurological disorders such as:
- Concussion;
- Dementia;
- Stroke;
- Diabetic neuropathy;
- Dystonias;
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Epilepsy;
- Alzheimer’s disease;
- Headaches and migraines;
- Parkinson’s disease;
- Multiple sclerosis.
It is not a complete list we can help with; our neurologists deal with many diseases.
Go to our website to read more about our clinic. Check out the blog with many helpful articles about different diseases, their diagnosis, and treatment.
FAQs
- What is the most common stroke type?
Most often, patients experience ischemic stroke. It occurs when blood clots or other particles block the vessels leading to the brain.
- What are the early warning signs of a mini-stroke?
Among the first symptoms of a mini-stroke are weakness or numbness of the limbs or face on one side, speech problems, impaired coordination of movements, loss of balance, and a sharp drop in vision can be noted. In such cases, you should immediately call a doctor for first aid and start treatment.
- How long does it take the body to recover from a stroke?
Experts say that six months after a stroke, the patient’s condition may improve. With a successful outcome, during this time, the patient’s condition becomes stable, and some even have a complete recovery.
- Can I recognize and treat a stroke by myself?
If you suspect you have a stroke, you can recognize it by signs such as dizziness, migraine, sudden deterioration in vision, weakness of the limbs, unsteady gait, weakness and paralysis of any side of the face.
However, these symptoms may accompany other diseases, so do not try to diagnose yourself, and even more so it is strictly forbidden to try to cure a stroke on your own.
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