Stroke Symptom

The University of Queensland found that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) may be a safe and useful treatment to improve language skills of individuals who survived a stroke with aphasia.  source

A report presented on November 15, 2011 at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association found that there is no incremental benefit of adding high-dose extended-release niacin to the treatment of cardiovascular patients whose bad cholesterol is well treated by statins.  The results of this study cannot be extrapolated to a broader patient population including those whose bad cholesterol is not well controlled by statins.  source

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association will publish updated stroke prevention guidelines in an upcoming issue the medical journal Stroke. The new guidelines are based on recent research including:

• Healthy lifestyle choices including diet and exercise can reduce the risk of first time stroke by up to 80 percent.
• Aspirin does not effectively prevent first time stroke in low risk individuals.

source

A study published in the November 2010 issue of Archives of Neurology concludes that acute ischemic stroke patients who show very early neurologic improvement (VENI) after receiving emergency intravenous perfusion of the drug rt-PA are likely to have a favorable outcome 3 months later. This study gives physicians additional rationale to apply or exclude other therapies to improve long term outcome of individual patients.

A stroke is the interruption of blood flow to the brain due to arterial or cardiac constriction, blockage or rupture.  A stroke causes brain cells to die and is a medical emergency.  It is not a heart attack, it is a brain attack.  Strokes can occur at any age.   Strokes are the #3 cause of death and the #1 cause of adult disability in the USA.  Learn the symptoms, treatment and prevention of stroke.

Strokes are not always predicted by warning signs but are sometimes preceded by mini strokes known as transient ischemic attacks (TIA).

Stroke symptoms:
* Sudden intense headache, pain may extend to limbs
* Rapid numbness or muscle weakness of face, arm or leg – often limited to one side of the body
* Abrupt imbalance, blurred vision, slurred speech, altered senses or confused thought process

Stroke treatment:
Get immediate medical assistance.  Call 911 in the USA.  Untreated stroke may lead to brain injury or death.

Stroke prevention:
Healthy diet and exercise.  Avoid cigarettes, obesity, heavy alcohol consumption and illicit drugs.  Proactive health screening by ultrasonic inspection can detect plaque buildup in cartoid arteries, allowing your personal physician to prescribe ways to increase blood flow and minimize the chance of blood clots.  Ultrasonic inspection methods are quick and painless.