Do you smoke? Do you have high blood pressure or diabetes? Are you overweight? You should know that all of these things increase your chances of having a stroke; so if there are lifestyle changes you can make, you should make them in order to lower your chances. Why do they increase your chances of a having a stroke? Because these things increase the chances of damaging your heart or cutting blood flow to an area in the brain, which will deprive the brain cells of oxygen and glucose - killing them. And that is what a stroke means.
There are 2 types of strokes: Ischemic and Hemorrhagic. The Ischemic stroke happens when fatty deposits in the arteries break off and travel to the brain and clog your vessels or when an irregular heartbeat causes poor blood flow and a clot. Hemorrhagic stroke makes up only 20% of all strokes, and happens when a blood vessel in your brain balloons up and bursts, or is too thin and leaks.
Of course, most of the time, a damage to the brain will manifest in symptoms, and it's extremely important for you to note when you first started noticing the symptoms, in order to help you doctor make a diagnosis and a treatment plan for you.
The most common symptoms are:
There are things you can do whenever you notice these signs and symptoms in yourself or in someone else in front you, so think fast and act fast:
If any or all of these symptoms are present, call an ambulance immediately or get the person to the ER as fast as possible. Time is key and there is none to waste. The faster you act, the less chance there is for the stroke to be fatal, or have long lasting damages.
