Symptoms of a Stroke - Ischemic strokes

Symptoms of a Stroke - Ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke averaging around 80% of all the different types of stroke. The brain depends on its arteries to bring fresh blood from the heart and lungs. Fresh blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain, and then removes carbon dioxide and cellular waste. If an artery is blocked then the brain cells may not receive enough oxygen. Without oxygen they cannot make enough energy and the cells will eventually die. Your brain cells can tolerate this slowdown in blood flow only briefly before permanent damage begins to occur. The longer the wait until blood flow is restored, the more damage that’s done.

There are 2 types of Ischemic stroke

Thrombotic stroke.  - When blood clots from the inside of the arteries of the brain, it is a thrombic stroke. Study shows that this type of stroke is responsible for almost 50% of all strokes. The most common problem is narrowing off the arteries in the neck or headdue to acertherosis. Thrombotic stroke are also sometimes referred to as large-artery strokes. The process leading to thrombotic stroke is complex and occurs over time. Thrombotic stroke might be caused by the arterial walls slowly thickening and hardening after an injury to the site. This will signal the immune system to release white blood cells to the site causing a stroke. Thrombotic stroke also occurs when the inner wall of arteries were injured in result of less nitric oxide being produced, causing the hardening of the arteries. If the blood clot then blocks the already narrowed artery and shuts off oxygen to part of the brain, we have a thrombotic stroke.

Embolic stroke - When blood clots in other parts of the body’s arteries then enter the brain, it is an embolic stroke. In this case the clot was formed somewhere other than in the brain itself. The clot then travels around the bloodstream until they become lodged and can not travel any further. This naturally restricts the flow of blood to the brain and results in embolic stroke. An embolic stroke occurs when a blood clot or other particle forms in a blood vessel away from your brain. It is usually caused by a dislodged blood clot that has traveled through the blood vessels until it becomes wedged in an artery. It is also caused by irregular beating in the heart’s two upper chambers. This abnormal heart rhythm can lead to poor blood flow and the formation of a blood clot.

Stroke is a potentially treatable disease when caught early on its onset. Given the narrow window of opportunity to halt stroke damage and prevent serious complications, prompt treatment is critical to obtaining the best possible outcome. [Possibly the most effective treatment for ischemic stroke, and the one most likely to improve your chances of a full recovery, is injection of a clot-busting (thrombolytic) drug – such as a tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) – to dissolve a blood clot.

It is vital to be ablee to spot the Symptoms of a Stroke .

Sue Roberts

More information on types of Strokes and the Symptoms of a Stroke