Lately, I’ve seen more and more young people suffer from cerebral vascular accidents, commonly known as strokes. Historically we’ve thought of strokes as an old person’s disease, but the condition affects a growing number of young people nowadays. So, I wanted to explain what strokes are, what causes them and how you can identify and help someone who is having a stroke.
What is a stroke? It’s described as a sudden attack on the brain, the master control of everything in your body, which interrupts the blood flow to it. (I fondly refer to the brain as the mothership.) So, when the master control of all your body’s functions is deprived of oxygen and, the cells begin to die. As you can imagine, this is a very bad thing that has immediate fatal effects on your body.
There are two types of strokes, the most common one of them being an ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes happen when there is an obstruction in a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. These strokes make up 80% 0f the strokes around the world. The other 20% are called hemorrhagic strokes, and these are caused when a blood vessel weakens and ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding brain.
Warning signs of stroke include: sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion; trouble speaking or understanding; sudden slurring of the words; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking; dizziness; a loss of balance or coordination; and a sudden severe headache with no known cause.
There are many different risk factors of stroke. Some of them are: being overweight, physical inactivity, heavy or binge drinking, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, family history of stroke, being older than age 55, race and gender (men are more likely to get strokes than women).
Complications of stroke include: paralysis or loss of muscle movement, usually on one side; difficulty talking or swallowing; memory loss; difficulty thinking; emotional problems; and pain.
If you or anyone you know experience any of the above-stated symptoms, please call 911 immediately. Time is of the essence. There are much better outcomes the quicker you recognize these symptoms and get help. Please share this information with those that your family and friends.
And remember, chiropractic, massage therapy, proper nutrition and quality supplements can help prevent stroke.
