There is a stroke about every minute and one person dies of stroke about every 3½ minutes, there are more than a half million strokes each year. A stroke, also called a "brain attack," occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, and it is deprived of oxygen and other nutrients that it needs to function properly.

Strokes fall into two categories: those caused by blood-flow blockage and those caused by bleeding. An ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel in the brain or neck is blocked, is the most common stroke. Such blockages may form within a blood vessel of the brain or neck (thrombosis), may migrate to the brain or neck as a clot from another part of the body (embolism), or may result from severe narrowing of an artery in or leading to the brain (stenosis).

Less common is hemorrhagic stroke, in which a blood vessel bursts, causing bleeding into the brain or in the spaces surrounding the brain. If blood flow is not restored, those parts of the brain begin to die, causing affecting speech, vision, coordination, and thought. As the name "stroke" implies, it happens suddenly and often catastrophically; however, many strokes could be prevented by heeding the warning signs.

Warning signs are clues your body sends that your brain is not receiving enough oxygen. A stroke can occur suddenly and cause one or more symptoms and may disappear within minutes to hours. Call 9-1-1 immediately if you experience any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away and you feel fine again.

Other danger signs that may occur include double vision, drowsiness, and nausea or vomiting. Sometimes the warning signs may last only a few moments and then disappear. These brief episodes, known as transient ischemic attacks or TIAs, are sometimes called "mini-strokes." Although brief, they are signs of a serious condition that won't go away without medical treatment.

Stroke does not have to leave patients with permanent disabilities. The key to treating a "brain attack" is a speedy response by people experiencing strokes and their families. There is a "therapeutic time window" following a stroke during which proper treatment can restore blood flow and reverse brain damage once thought to be permanent, patients must be treated within three hours to benefit from this therapy.

Once a stroke is diagnosed, physicians can begin immediate treatment, lessening or even reversing the devastating effects of stroke, in many cases. Treatments for strokes are very specific, and depend upon the type, size and location of the blockage or disruption of blood flow in the brain. People are having an acute ischemic stroke caused by an artery blockage, can receive a powerful drug that dissolves brain clots.

Thrombolytic agents halt the stroke by dissolving the blood clot that is blocking blood flow to the brain. Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is a genetically engineered form of t-PA, a thombolytic substance made naturally by the body. T-PA has already been used effectively in people with heart attacks.

It can be effective if given intravenously within 3 hours of stroke symptom onset, but it should be used only after a doctor makes sure there is no bleeding in the brain by various tests, including a computerized axial tomography (CT) scan. Stroke patients who receive t-PA within 3 hours of their stroke were more likely to recover from their stroke with little or no disability.

It is unlikely that stroke will ever be eliminated completely. But medical weapons such as t-PA hold promise to at least help curb the disorder's destructive path. Because every minute counts in stroke treatment, stroke victims and those around them should learn to recognize stroke symptoms and seek help quickly, in order for this new treatment to have a benefit.

 

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