Stroke
Stroke
- Also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
- Occurs when there is
- ischemia (inadequate blood low) to a part of the brain
- hemorrhage (bleeding) into the brain
- 5th most common cause of death in the United States
- Leading cause of serious, long-term disability
- About 800,000 people have a stroke each year
- 15%-30% with permanent disability
- Lifelong change for survivor and family
Risk factors
- Non-modifiable
- Age
- Stroke risk doubles each decade after 55
- Gender
- More common in men; more women die
- Ethnicity/race
- Higher incidence in African Americans
- Heredity/family history
- Modifiable
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Serum cholesterol
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Sleep apnea
- Metabolic syndrome
- Lack of physical exercise
- Poor diet
- Drug and alcohol abuse
Transient ischemic attack
- History of TIA is associated with an increased risk of stroke
- TIA is a transient episode of neurologic dysfunction caused by focal brain, spinal cord, or retinal ischemia, but without acute infarction of brain
- Symptoms typically last < 1 hour
- There is no way to predict outcome
- 1/3 do not experience another event
- 1/3 have additional TIAs
- 1/3 progress to stroke