What is a stroke?

There is no ‘official’ definition of a stroke. Doctors use the term ‘stroke’ to cover a broad range of disorders that occur related to the blood supply of the brain. Most strokes involve the blood supply going into an area of brain being blocked. Most of the remaining number involve bleeding into the brain or the area inside the skull outside the brain.

What are the symptoms of a stroke?

In general, stroke symptoms come on suddenly rather than slow. Common stroke symptoms are paralysis or numbness down one side of the body which may or may not include the face, sudden imbalance or clumsiness of hand movements on one side, sudden speech disturbance, sudden visual disturbance, and sudden onset of severe headache or sudden confusion. It’s important to be aware that stroke may happen at any age.

What can I do to reduce my risk of stroke?

The greatest preventable risks for stroke all relate to other forms of vascular disease such as cardiovascular disease. Good control of blood pressure is paramount. Also important are good control of diabetes and high blood pressure, and smoking avoidance. Your doctor may prescribe blood thinning medication of one or another sort if you are at higher than usual risk of forming a blood clot also.

How do I know if I am having a stroke or if someone else may be having a stroke?

It can be difficult to confirm a stroke without appropriate testing. In general any symptoms of sudden onset or sudden onset of severe headache should prompt consideration of this problem.

After someone has had a stroke what can be done to reduce their risk of another stroke?

Generally the same issues are addressed as above – normalising blood pressure and diabetes control and aggressively treating high cholesterol levels.  Your doctor may make recommendations about blood thinning medication. Further procedures to address blood vessel abnormalities such as narrowing or aneurysm formation may be required.

Are strokes hereditary?

Most stroke are not of hereditary risk or cause. A small percentage of strokes are; these are more often seen in patients who have strokes at a young age. Testing is usually required to confirm whether a hereditary risk is present.

Are strokes preventable?

The risk of stroke increases with age overall – so cannot be entirely prevented as the ageing process cannot be reversed. However much of the burden of risk of stroke such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol can be treated effectively so much of the risk of stroke can be prevented.

What is the treatment of stroke?

Stroke can be treated if the patient is brought to hospital as soon as possible. No effective treatment is possible after six hours. Within three hours clot dissolving medication can be given in hospital if safe to do so. Within six hours it may be possible to remove the clot blocking an artery in some patients. It must be remembered that the outcome of these treatments is best with the least delay, ie. The sooner treatment can be given, the better the outcome.