Posts Tagged ‘Stroke’
Risk Factors and Stroke Prevention (Part 2)
Risk factors that may cause blood more likely to clot, which can lead to stroke include:
* Birth control pills may increase the likelihood of blood clots, especially in women who smoke and are over 35 years
* Disorders of blood clotting
* Cancer
* Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, vasculitis and ulcerative colitis
* Pregnancy: Women have a higher risk of stroke during pregnancy and the weeks immediately after it
Risk factors for strokes caused by blood clots (emboli) that develop in the heart include:
* Infected or artificial heart valves
* Inflammation of the lining of the heart chambers and valves (endocarditis)
* An attack that is not beating strongly or regularly, which can cause blood to remain in the area of the heart, leading to the formation of a clot. The clot can break off and travel to the brain
Risk Factors and Stroke Prevention (Part 1)
A stroke is an interruption of blood supply to any part of the brain, sometimes called “brain attack.”
There are two main types of stroke: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.
When a blood vessel supplying the brain becomes blocked by a blood clot, it is called ischemic stroke. The blockage of the artery can happen in two ways.
* You can form a clot in an artery that is already very close and is called a thrombus. If you block the artery completely, is called thrombotic stroke.
* A blood clot may become dislodged from part of the body and travel to the brain to block a smaller artery. This is called an embolism, causing an embolic stroke.
A second major cause of stroke is bleeding in the brain. This is called a hemorrhagic stroke can occur when small blood vessels in the brain become weak and burst.
Some people have defects in blood vessels of the brain that make this more likely. The flow of blood that occurs after the rupture of blood vessels causes damage to neurons.
Men have more strokes than women.