Stroke is the name of a disease in Chinese medicine, which is characterized by sudden fainting, unconsciousness, hemiplegia, distortion of the mouth and eyes, and unfavorable speech. In mild cases, there may be no fainting but only symptoms such as slanting of the mouth and eyes and paralysis of the body. Stroke has a sudden onset and rapid changes, similar to the natural wind “good movement and several changes”, so Chinese medicine refers to the above clinical manifestations as stroke, also known as “stroke”. Stroke has a high incidence, death rate and disability rate, which seriously endangers the health of middle-aged and elderly people. Chinese medicine in long-term clinical practice summed up a number of stroke aura performance: “Where the big finger, the second finger numbness or do not use, three years in the stroke of the patient”, “ordinary people finger numbness, from time to time dizziness, is a stroke aura, must be prevented. It is advisable to be cautious of living, diet, far away from the house, and regulate the emotions”.
Stroke is roughly the same as acute stroke in modern medicine, including acute ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. In daily life, middle-aged and elderly people should change their unhealthy lifestyles at an early stage and actively control various risk factors related to stroke with the help of doctors, so as to achieve the goal of not having a stroke or delaying the occurrence of a stroke, and actively and timely seek medical attention once a stroke aura or stroke occurs, so that the impact of stroke on life and quality of life can be reduced as much as possible.
A. Cultivate a good daily lifestyle
1, reasonable arrangement of work and rest time, to ensure sufficient sleep, middle-aged and elderly people should arrange according to their own physical condition, do not stay awake because they can not sleep, to develop the habit of early to bed and early to rise.
2.Keep an optimistic mind and a relaxed mood, avoid emotional tension, which brings excessive fluctuations in blood pressure and induces stroke.
3, pay attention to the daily diet should eat more flavonoids containing food, including beans, buckwheat (buckwheat content and more than 10 times the ordinary buckwheat), citrus fruits in the higher content. Daily life can be appropriate to eat more wild rose hips, buckwheat, citrus fruits, berries, coconut, cherries, grapes, papaya, cantaloupe, plums, tea, red wine, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers. Citrus fruits contain large amounts of total flavonoids, with oranges and grapefruits being particularly rich in total flavonoids, with one orange or grapefruit containing approximately 45-50 mg of total flavonoids. Studies have confirmed that total flavonoids, a type of food flavonoid, are effective in preventing stroke by improving cardiovascular function and reducing the incidence of inflammation in the body. Fat and cholesterol as well as salt can promote the formation of atherosclerosis, which is one of the high-risk pathological factors for many cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. Diet should reduce the intake of saturated fat (less than 10% of total daily calories) and cholesterol (<300mg/day), and control the daily sodium intake less than 6~8g.
4, prevention of constipation: Nowadays, people’s activities are becoming less and less, and food is becoming more and more refined, leading to more and more people with constipation. In the case of hypertension and other underlying diseases, constipation is one of the common triggers of cerebrovascular accidents, and many strokes are sudden onset on the toilet. You can moderate exercise and eat coarse grains containing dietary fiber to promote intestinal peristalsis and bowel movements. Such as fruit, oats, barley, corn, wheat bran, rice bran.
5, to avoid excessive force: some hypertension, cerebral arteriosclerosis patients, if accidental excessive force will make a sudden rise in blood pressure, resulting in a sudden stroke.
6, avoid rapid, large changes in posture: sudden changes in posture can cause cerebral hemodynamic changes, so that cerebral blood supply is impaired, brain tissue in a state of inhibition or disorder, the mild can appear a transient cerebral ischemic attack, the heavy can induce a stroke. Therefore, the middle-aged and elderly people should move slowly, so that the body has a process of adjustment and adaptation.
7, according to their physical condition, arrange a certain amount of aerobic exercise (such as playing tai chi, walking) every day to burn excess body heat. Regular, moderate physical exercise can improve heart function, increase cerebral blood flow, improve microcirculation, but also through the blood pressure, blood sugar, weight control and play a role in stroke prevention.
8, reduce the number of people, air circulation is not in the place to stay. Keep indoor air fresh, to prevent long-term chronic hypoxia leading to increased red blood cells in the blood, increased blood viscosity, induced stroke.
9, quit smoking: tobacco contains nicotine can make the blood vessel spasm, blood pressure and accelerate atherosclerosis. Smoking is an independent risk factor for stroke, and smoking cessation is advocated.
10, quit alcohol: alcohol may cause stroke through a variety of mechanisms, including increased blood pressure, blood in a state of hypercoagulation, arrhythmia and reduced cerebral blood flow. Chronic heavy drinking and acute alcoholism are risk factors for cerebral infarction, and there is a direct dose-related link between alcohol intake and hemorrhagic stroke. Advising people with drinking habits to drink moderately can reduce the occurrence of stroke.
11. Weight control: It is believed that the increase in waist circumference over hip circumference in men and body mass index in women are independent risk factors for stroke, which is related to the tendency of obesity to lead to hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Adult body mass index should be controlled within 28 or waist/hip circumference <1, fluctuation range <10%. Body mass index (BMI) = weight (Kg) / square of height (m2).
12. Pay attention to keeping warm in winter and heat in summer. The elderly have poor vascular elasticity, and rapid changes in temperature have a greater impact on the blood flow in the body, bringing blood pressure fluctuations and inducing strokes. Cold can make people sympathetic excitement, increased catecholamines in the blood, resulting in systemic vasoconstriction. At the same time, when the temperature is low, the body sweats less and blood volume increases relatively, all these reasons can make blood pressure rise and promote cerebral hemorrhage. High temperatures can easily lead to blood pressure fluctuations, emotional stress, rising blood viscosity, and poor sleep, and these are four important triggers of stroke.
13, regular medical checkups, especially routine blood tests and blood biochemistry tests. According to the results of the examination, take targeted treatment measures under the guidance of doctors.
Second, control the high-risk pathological factors of stroke
1. Prevention and control of hypertension: Hypertension is the most important risk factor for cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction, and controlling hypertension is the core aspect of preventing the occurrence and development of stroke. The common prevention and control measures for hypertension are as follows: limit salt intake, reduce dietary fat content, reduce body weight, appropriate physical exercise, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, maintain an optimistic attitude, improve stress capacity, and adhere to regular antihypertensive medication. 2014 U.S. hypertension guidelines: the target blood pressure for people over 60 years of age is 150/90 mmHg, and for people under 60 years of age, the target value is 140/90 mmHg. for 140/90 mmHg, including patients with diabetes and kidney disease. Specific individualized BP target values and dosing regimens should be directed by a physician.
Atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease are all risk factors for stroke, with atrial fibrillation being the most important. Heart disease often causes embolic stroke, which is more common in patients with atrial fibrillation. Preventive measures are mainly the application of anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs under the guidance of a doctor.
3, prevention and control of diabetes: the incidence of atherosclerosis, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia are higher in diabetic patients than in the corresponding non-diabetic population. Hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for the development of ischemic stroke, and the risk of stroke in diabetic patients is about 4 times higher than that in the general population.
4. Prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia: Hypercholesterolemia, reduced HDL, increased LDL and hypertriglyceridemia are risk factors for atherosclerosis. Prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia should emphasize diet control and physical exercise, supplemented by drug therapy.
5. Prevention and treatment of carotid artery stenosis: Carotid artery stenosis is an important risk factor for ischemic stroke, mostly caused by atherosclerosis. For patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis, antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin or statins are preferred. For patients with severe carotid stenosis (>70%), carotid endarterectomy or endovascular intervention can be considered where available.
6, prevention and treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia: hyperhomocysteine is correlated with the development of stroke. Combined treatment with folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 can reduce its level.
7, reduce fibrinogen levels: elevated fibrinogen concentration is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and thrombotic and embolic diseases, and is also closely related to transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke. The risk of stroke is greater when elevated blood pressure coexists with increased plasma fibrinogen levels. Elevated plasma fibrinogen can be treated with fibrin-lowering therapy, and the cause should be actively sought such as acute inflammation, acute myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, infection, and tumor.
Recognize stroke aura
Stroke aura refers to the various symptoms or syndromes that occur before the onset of stroke, and can be divided into recent aura and distant aura. Recent aura refers to the aura symptoms that appear minutes, hours or days before the onset of stroke, while distant aura refers to the symptoms that appear early or super early in the onset of stroke.
The common ones are.
1, headache: change in the nature, location and distribution of headache, sudden onset of severe headache, headache aggravated by coughing and exertion or severe headache, often waking up with pain at night, etc., are often aura symptoms of stroke when inflammation and tumor are excluded.
2, tongue pain: middle-aged and elderly people with tongue pain, numbness or impaired movement is also an aura of stroke; sometimes the sudden onset of tongue pain also requires timely medical attention, except for the possibility of acute heart attack.
3, vertigo: sudden transient dizziness, visual rotation, unstable walking, and recovery after a few seconds are the precursors of stroke.
4. Visual impairment: Transient dark haze, blurred vision or visual field loss in one or both eyes are the precursors of stroke.
5. Frequent yawning: This is an important manifestation of severe cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, which may occur in elderly people several days before the onset of ischemic stroke.
6. Speech impairment: The sudden onset of slurred speech, inability to speak or to understand the language of others often indicates the onset of stroke.
7, swallowing and choking: choking and coughing when drinking or eating is an important precursor of stroke.
8. Sleep disturbance: Sleep disturbance and unexplained drowsiness in the middle-aged and elderly often indicate cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, which are the earliest precursors of ischemic stroke.
9. Frequent falls: Frequent unexplained falls are caused by cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, motor nerve dysfunction, and are a precursor symptom of stroke.
10. Razor landing phenomenon: It refers to the process of shaving with a razor, when the head is turned to the side, suddenly feel the arm holding the razor weakness, razor landing, can be accompanied by slurred speech, but often in 1-2 minutes or so completely back to normal. This is due to the fact that when the neck is turned, it aggravates the already sclerotic carotid artery stenosis, resulting in insufficient cranial blood supply and a transient cerebral ischemic attack: this often indicates that an ischemic stroke may occur at any time.
It is important to consult a doctor as soon as any of these aura symptoms are detected, especially in middle-aged and elderly people with high-risk pathology for stroke, so that they can be diagnosed and treated promptly.
By cultivating a good lifestyle, preventing and treating high-risk pathological factors for stroke, and recognizing stroke aura, middle-aged and elderly people can prevent or delay the occurrence of stroke by detecting the possibility of stroke early and seeking medical attention in time, so as to stay away from stroke and enjoy a peaceful old age.