Stroke: signs and consequences. The main symptoms of stroke and micro stroke

Stroke is an acute disorder of cerebral circulation, as a result of which blood supply to certain areas of the brain partially or completely ceases. Such a condition leads to tissue damage, resulting in a loss of functionality. In the case of a severe disruption in the brain, irreversible effects on human health, leading not only to his disability but also to a possible fatal outcome, are possible.

Mechanism of disease development

Depending on the mechanism of development and the causes of the disease, hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes are distinguished. Hemorrhagic stroke, the symptoms of which grow suddenly, occurs as a result of hemorrhage to the brain. A prolonged increase in blood pressure leads to pathogenic changes in the walls of the vessels, they lose their strength and elasticity, can no longer fully function as a conductor for the constantly pacing volume of blood. Aneurysms appear, which, after rupture, cause hemorrhage. Suddenly, a flow of blood penetrates the brain tissue, causing swelling and increased pressure on them. Cells die, lose their functionality.

More common and accounts for approximately 80% of all cases of ischemic stroke. Symptoms, the first signs should be identified as early as possible. The mechanism of development of ischemic stroke differs from the causes of hemorrhagic. The ischemic type of the disease appears after the cessation of blood access to some part of the brain. This condition is caused by clogging of blood vessels with a thrombus or an atherosclerotic plaque. Over time, lipid deposits appear on the walls of the vessels of the human body, which can form a large thickening, partially or completely blocking the blood flow. In addition, various inflammatory diseases, congenital anomalies, some chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, vertebral lesions lead to vasoconstriction. The human body has a powerful compensatory system that allows to maintain normal blood circulation even in the event of the defeat of one of the major main arteries. At the same time, the blood system can not cope with multiple vascular lesions and the formation of a large number of atherosclerotic plaques.

Risk factors

There are certain risk factors that increase the risk of developing both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. These include:

1. Atherosclerosis. Especially dangerous is the disease with respect to the carotid and vertebral arteries.
2. Elderly age. Over time, all body tissues lose their functionality. This applies to the vessels. In addition, more and more atherosclerotic lipid deposits accumulate on their walls, leading to the formation of plaques.
3. Arterial hypertension. This condition leads to both the development of ischemic and hemorrhagic forms of the disease.
4. Diabetes. Under the influence of this chronic disease, the vessels collapse and cease to fulfill their functions of supplying tissues and organs with oxygen and nutrients carried with blood.
5. Diseases of the heart, as a result of which the normal process of blood circulation in various organs and tissues of a person is disturbed.
6. Harmful habits, such as smoking and alcohol abuse.

Types and periods of ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke of the brain, the symptoms of which sometimes increase for 3 days, can be classified according to various signs:

On the rate of formation of neurologic symptoms:

1. Ischemic transient attack is a neurological disorder that is focal. It disappears within a day from the moment of the first manifestation. Such a violation can be, for example, the blindness of one eye.
2. Microinsult is a combination of long-acting ischemic attacks. In this case, neurologic defects appear in the period from 2 to 22 days.
3. Progressive stroke. Symptoms, the first signs are manifested by an increase in neurological disorders within a few days. After such a state, the normal operation of damaged areas of the brain is completely restored very rarely.

Completed stroke is characterized by constant regression in the brain and persistent neurological disorders.

According to the degree of tissue damage and the condition of patients, there are:

1. Stroke of mild severity with minor symptoms and fully restored brain function.
2. Stroke of moderate severity with predominance of focal lesions of brain tissue and more significant neurological disorders. Consciousness in such patients is usually not violated.
3. A severe form of stroke is characterized by a violation of consciousness, expressed symptoms of neurological deficits, multiple loss of functionality of brain tissue.

There are also different periods of the disease. Each of these time intervals corresponds to certain symptoms of the disease and methods of treatment.

• The most acute period takes the first three days from the onset of the disease;
• Acute period of the disease lasts about a month - up to 28 days;
• The period of early recovery takes about 6 months in the life of the patient;
• The period of late restoration lasts about two years;
• Residual events can become human companions for the rest of life after a stroke.

Hemorrhagic stroke: symptoms

Hemorrhagic type of disease, in contrast to ischemic, manifests itself suddenly. The symptoms of stroke and micro stroke are very rapid, and there is very little time to call an ambulance and return a person to a normal life. The main signs of hemorrhagic stroke include:

• Weakness in the extremities, especially manifested on one side of the body;
• Poor understanding of speech, inability to speak;
• Sudden appearance of vision impairment;
• Disorder of coordination, chaotic limb movements;
• Sharply appeared a strong and causeless headache.

Often the patient has involuntary urination, nausea and vomiting. Muscle reflexes are broken on the side opposite to the one in which the hemorrhage occurred.

Symptoms of ischemic stroke

The signs of an ischemic stroke can grow gradually, rather than manifest suddenly, as in the hemorrhagic form of the disease. The first symptoms of stroke depend on the part of the brain whose circulation was difficult. The most often ischemic type of the disease is manifested by speech disorders. All the symptoms of a stroke and a micro stroke can be divided into groups:

1. Speech disorders. A person does not perceive speech that is addressed to him, can not express his thoughts in words. The pronunciation deteriorates, the patient's speech is incomprehensible and incoherent. Often, speech disorders are the first symptoms of stroke in women.
2. Movement disorders. The patient's movements are weak, the coordination is broken. Symptoms most often affect one of the sides of the body. There may be problems with swallowing. Often the sensitivity of the body on one side is disturbed.
3. Vestibular disorders. The patient complains of the rotation of objects before the eyes, the loss of spatial orientation.
4. Visual disturbances. Ischemic stroke is characterized by a complete or partial loss of one eye, blurred vision and blurred vision.
5. Personality disorders. The patient can not perform the usual actions, his memory and perception of the events are broken.

During an ischemic stroke, headache often occurs, nausea, vomiting. General symptoms of a stroke and a heart attack may also occur - reddening of the face, malfunctioning in the breathing, heart palpitations.

Diagnostics

To save the life and health of a person who has had a stroke, he needs help as soon as possible. Otherwise, irreversible changes can occur in the brain tissues, leading to severe neurological disorders. It is therefore very important to know what symptoms are associated with a stroke and seek help. If there is any doubt, you can ask the patient to take several actions:

1. Ask the person to smile. Do it to someone who had a stroke, it's difficult. The smile turns out skewed, the corners of the mouth are asymmetrical. One of them is lowered down.
2. Invite the person to raise both hands. If there is a stroke, one hand will stop below the other.
3. Ask the patient to say a simple phrase. It will be difficult for a person to do this, even a sentence of three or four words will become incoherent.
4. If the patient sticks out his tongue, he will be moved to one side, skewed.

All this - the symptoms of a stroke and a micro stroke, which allow you to suspect the disease, even a person who has nothing to do with medicine. Doctors also diagnosed on the basis of the presence of neurological disorders, deviations in human behavior, data from various studies. The main are general and biochemical blood tests, measurement of blood pressure, computer and magnetic tomography of the brain.

First aid

Experts in the field of neurosurgery believe that to return a person who has had a stroke to a full life can be if help begins to be provided no later than 3 hours from the onset of the disease, that is, the time when the first symptoms of stroke and micro stroke occurred. In some cases, this time increases to 6 hours. If help is late, there is a high probability of irreversible changes in the brain, which threaten not only the health, but also the life of the patient. Therefore, the emergency help surrounding people in a stroke should begin with an emergency call. Then you can lay the patient, lifting a little his head on the pillows. It is necessary to open the window, providing access to fresh air. It is necessary to relax various straps and buttons that prevent a person from breathing freely. In the case of increasing blood pressure, you can offer the patient those drugs that he usually takes. Very often during a stroke a person starts vomiting. In this case, it should be laid on its side in order to avoid the ingress of vomit into the throat.

Treatment of stroke

The tactics of treating a stroke depend on the time that elapsed from the onset of the disease, the condition of the patient and the severity of the attack. Medical and surgical methods are used. If a little time has elapsed from the onset of the stroke, special preparations that dissolve the thrombus are administered. It can also be removed surgically. In the case of hemorrhagic stroke, which resulted from cerebral hemorrhage, and the formation of a hematoma, the latter also needs to be removed. These measures allow you to quickly restore blood circulation in the affected area and minimize possible complications. The treatment of a stroke is also to provide those vital functions that were lost as a result of an attack. It is necessary to maintain the heartbeat and breathing of the patient, to ensure a normal level of glucose and electrolytes in the blood. With the help of special drugs, blood pressure is corrected. Its level is left slightly elevated, since a rapid decrease can cause necrosis of the tissues.

During the recovery period, the treatment is sent to improve brain activity, compensate for neurological disorders. Their symptoms after a stroke can persist for a long time. Patients prescribe drugs that improve blood circulation. A big role is given to physiotherapy, lessons with a speech therapist. If the patient's condition allows, minimal motor activity can be started already in the first days after hospitalization. The earlier the recovery treatment is started, the more chances for maximum recovery of brain functions. The patient must also be supervised by an ophthalmologist.

Consequences of the disease

In each case, there may be different complications for a person who has suffered a stroke. Symptoms and consequences are characterized not only by the severity of the disease itself, but also by the time during which the person was given first aid, as well as the localization of the site of the disturbed blood circulation. The most dangerous is a stroke that causes damage to the respiratory and vasomotor centers. In this case, there is a possibility of a lethal outcome as a result of cardiac arrest or cessation of respiratory activity. Patients may have full or partial paresis of individual limbs or completely one side of the body, most often the opposite of the focus of the disease. Speech disorders, memory loss are common, including short-term memory problems. A person can not write well and coordinate their movements. Especially often this disorder is associated with a stroke that occurred in the cerebellum.

The impact on the consequences of a stroke is also affected by the hemisphere affected. People with circulatory disorders in the left hemisphere suffer more pronounced changes in psychoemotional indicators. They have serious problems with speech reproduction. Understanding the interlocutor, they can not even pronounce simple phrases. In this case, in those who have suffered a stroke with localization in the left hemisphere, the motor functions are restored faster.

Prevention of stroke

Prevention of strokes is closely related to the fight against atherosclerosis. It is necessary to regularly check the level of cholesterol in the blood, observe a diet prescribed by a doctor, take drugs that prevent the deposition of plaques on the walls of blood vessels. People who are over 50 years old must be extremely attentive to their state of health. Stroke, the causes, the symptoms of which are also associated with being overweight, can lead to blood pressure jumps and the appearance of diabetes mellitus. Reduce the risk of disease can help stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Under special control, one must keep diseases that lead to the formation of thromboses. A strong half of humanity is more at risk of stroke than women. Therefore, the symptoms of stroke in men, even the implicit ones, can not be ignored. A healthy lifestyle, attention to one's health and stress management will significantly reduce the risk of stroke.