What is a stroke?
A stroke occurs when an artery in the brain becomes blocked or when a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. When a stroke occurs, it kills brain cells in the surrounding area. Doctors call this area of dead cells an infarct. These cells usually die within minutes to a few hours after a stroke starts.
When circulation to a part of the brain is interrupted for more than a few minutes, the brain cells in that region may die or malfunction and the patient will demonstrate loss of some bodily function such as vision, speech, movement of a body part or sensation. When the underlying disease process is temporary, the symptoms may be similarly temporary and the episode is known as a “transient ischemic attack” or TIA. Some people also refer to these as “mini-strokes.” When the underlying blockage is fixed, the loss of function may be permanent and the patient will have a “stroke” or CVA (cerebrovascular accident). Although brain cells do not regenerate once they have died, surrounding areas of brain can assume some of the functions performed by the dead cells and thus, the patient can recover lost function following a stroke. If the doctors suspect that a patient has suffered a stroke, they may order a computerized tomogram, or CT scan, or a magnet resonance image, or MRI, to confirm the d
A stroke or “brain attack” occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs. When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost. These abilities include speech, movement and memory. How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged. For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg. People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak. Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability. http://www.stroke.
Stroke is a “brain attack” that occurs when blood vessels leading to a specific part of the brain burst (hemorrhagic stroke) or become blocked (ischemic stroke). This cuts off the supply of nutrients and oxygen to that part of the brain, which creates a disastrous domino effect, causing brain cells to begin to die. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, accounting for about 70 percent to 80 percent of strokes.
A. Stroke is an abrupt interruption of constant blood flow to the brain that causes loss of neurological function. The interruption of blood flow can be caused by a blockage, leading to the more common ischemic stroke, or by bleeding in the brain, leading to the more deadly hemorrhagic stroke. In any event, proper blood flow and oxygen must be restored to the brain as soon as possible. Without oxygen and important nutrients, the affected brain cells are either damaged or die within a few minutes. Once brain cells die, they cannot be regrown or revitalized.
