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