STROKE
Stroke
or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) 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.In medicine, a stroke, fit, or faint is sometimes referred
to as an ictus [cerebri], from the Latin icere ("to strike"), especially
prior to a definitive diagnosis.Stroke
is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications
and death if not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is the third leading cause
of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States and
Europe. It is predicted that stroke will soon become the leading cause of death
worldwide.Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, hypertension (high blood
pressure), previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA), diabetes, high
cholesterol, cigarette smoking, atrial fibrillation, migraine with aura, and
thrombophilia (a tendency to thrombosis). Blood pressure is the most important
modifiable risk factor of stroke.
The traditional
definition of stroke, devised by the World Health Organisation in the 1970s,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. It divides
stroke from TIA, which is a related syndrome of stroke symptoms that resolve
completely within 24 hours. 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.Treatment of stroke is occasionally
with thrombolysis ("clot buster"), but usually with supportive care
(physiotherapy and occupational therapy) and secondary prevention with antiplatelet
drugs (aspirin and often dipyridamole), blood pressure control, statins and
anticoagulation (in selected patients) (1)
source
: wikipedia