I. What is stroke?
Stroke, called stroke in Chinese medicine, is a disease of cerebral blood circulation that starts suddenly and is the most serious complication of cerebrovascular disease. It has a high incidence, high disability, high mortality and high recurrence rate. The former is commonly known as “cerebral hemorrhage” or “cerebral hemorrhage”, while the latter is more common, including “cerebral thrombosis” and “cerebral embolism”. The latter is more common and includes “cerebral thrombosis” and “cerebral embolism”.
Patients are mostly middle-aged and older than 40 years old; however, in recent years, the number of young patients in their twenties and thirties has increased, with the youngest patient being only 7 years old, and most of them end up with cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral thrombosis, which is the disease with the highest death and disability rate among the elderly.
Second, what are the causes of stroke?
There are many factors or diseases that are closely related to the initial onset or recurrence of stroke, called “stroke risk factors”. There are many risk factors for stroke, among which advanced age, race, and family history of stroke are uncontrollable risk factors, while hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, smoking, and history of stroke or transient ischemic attack are controllable risk factors.
1. Hypertension: Hypertension is the most common and important risk factor for stroke, and treatment of hypertension can reduce the occurrence of stroke. Adults should have their blood pressure checked at least once a year.
2, diabetes: diabetes can not only induce and accelerate cerebral atherosclerosis, but also increase the risk of cerebrovascular thrombosis and embolism through several pathways. Therefore, it is important to check blood sugar regularly.
3, heart disease: Many heart diseases may lead to stroke, such as atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, left ventricular hypertrophy, etc. Doctors can initially understand whether there are arrhythmias through pulse palpation and heart auscultation.
4, smoking: compared with non-smokers, the risk of stroke increases 2 times in smokers.
5. History of atherosclerosis or cerebrovascular disease: Those with intracranial and extracranial atherosclerosis can cause narrowing of the carotid lumen or detachment of sclerotic plaque, leading to stroke. People with a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack have a significantly higher risk of having another stroke.
6. Transient ischemic attack: itself a type of ischemic stroke classification, it can also be a precursor or prodromal symptom of cerebral infarction and should be treated promptly.
7, blood rheology disorders: cerebral blood flow decreases when whole blood viscosity increases.
8, age and gender: age is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis, and the degree of atherosclerosis increases with age. the incidence of stroke increases with age above 50 years, but the incidence of stroke in young and middle-aged people also increases, which should not be ignored.
C. How to identify stroke early?
(A) Common symptoms of stroke
(1) Sudden onset of weakness or numbness of one limb (with or without the face).
(2) Numbness or crookedness of the corners of the mouth on one side of the face.
(3) slurred speech or difficulty understanding speech
(4) Gaze to one side of both eyes; loss or blurring of vision in one or both eyes.
(5) Vertigo with vomiting.
(6) Severe headache and vomiting, which were previously uncommon.
(7) Impaired consciousness or convulsions.
(2) FAST stroke self-assessment
F (Face): Are you (he) able to smile? Do you feel weakness or numbness on one side of the face?
A (Arm): Can you (he/she) raise both hands smoothly? Does one hand feel weak or unable to lift it at all?
S (Speech): Can you (he/she) respond fluently? Does he/she have difficulty speaking or his/her speech is slurred?
T (Time): If any of the above three items exist, please call the emergency number 120 immediately.
D. What kind of treatment will I receive if I have a stroke?
If a stroke occurs, what tests will you receive when you are rushed to the hospital?
(1) CT scan of the head: CT scan can help to identify the type of stroke (e.g. ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke) and the severity of the stroke.
(2) MRI scan of the head: MRI provides a more detailed and clearer picture of the brain and can replace CT scan for some types of stroke or to further clarify whether the CT scan is correct.
(3) Other tests are: blood tests, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, Doppler ultrasound, etc.
What kind of treatment will I receive if I have a stroke?
The treatment of stroke depends on.
1. the type of stroke;
2. whether you have any other clinical symptoms;
3. the results of the CT head examination.
(1) Thrombolytic drugs – if contraindicated, the patient will be given thrombolytic drugs within 6 hours of the thrombolytic window
(2) Antithrombotic drugs – Patients without contraindications will be given antithrombotic drugs such as aspirin, clopidogrel, and secondary prevention of cerebrovascular disease such as atorvastatin calcium within 48 hours of stroke.
Is endovascular intervention suitable for me after a stroke?
Patients with severe stroke caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion within 6 hours of onset or posterior circulation aortic occlusion within 24 hours of onset and who are not suitable for intravenous thrombolysis can be treated with arterial thrombolysis and, in some cases, mechanical thrombus extraction in hospitals where available after a rigorous selection process. In some patients, emergency arterial stenting and angioplasty are even possible.
Is surgery right for me after a stroke?
Not all stroke patients need surgical treatment. You will need a color Doppler ultrasound to look at carotid flow and vascularity. If the cause of the stroke is due to carotid stenosis, your doctor will schedule further tests to evaluate you for an indication for surgery. In case of hemorrhagic stroke, both physicians and surgeons will assess whether surgery is indicated and recommend the best treatment plan for you.
V. How to prevent stroke?
1. Antithrombotic treatment: Active antithrombotic treatment should be given to the formed thrombus to reduce the problem of stroke due to dislodgement of the thrombus.
2, control blood pressure and weight: blood pressure and weight are both causes of stroke, so it is important to control. In this point, many people do not care, in fact, it is very dangerous.
3, control diabetes, dietary adjustment: diabetes is easy to make arteriosclerosis, and cause stroke. Therefore, it is important to keep the entrance gate, in this point also did not attract the attention of the high-risk groups.
4, cholesterol reduction, smoking cessation, stenting and carotid endarterectomy: the first two contribute to the formation of stroke, and once they are not controlled, stenting and carotid endarterectomy are the best options to reduce the risk.
5.Health education: For people who have not yet experienced obvious problems, attending beneficial health education is the first choice to obtain preventive health care knowledge.
6.Physical exercise and regular check-ups: Its can increase physical fitness and reduce the occurrence of diseases. Regular check-ups are also a key to prevention or early detection of problems, which should never be taken lightly and should not be treated rather than prevented.
Six, stroke precautions?
1, once the signs of stroke occur, quickly regain calm, call 120, remembering that “time is life”, do not have the idea that “rest may be fine”, the latter will only delay the diagnosis and treatment, and lose the best treatment time.
2, do not lie on your back, the head should be tilted to the side, timely removal of foreign objects in the mouth, such as vomit, dentures, etc., to keep the airway open.
3. Do not take medication on your own, as random use of medication before diagnosis may aggravate the condition. Evaluation and treatment by neurologist, take medication and follow up under the guidance of doctor.