Rochester General Hospital
What Is A Stroke
Stroke is a Brain Attack!
A Stroke is a Medical Emergency.
A Stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain suddenly decreases or a blood vessel bursts causing a decrease in oxygen supply to the brain. Brain cells will begin to die within a few minutes to a few hours when this happens.
What does a stroke look like?
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, usually on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble talking or understanding what others are saying
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache
What increases your chance of having a Stroke?
The following things can be controlled:
- High Blood Pressure
- Atherosclerosis: a build up of fatty substances along the inner lining of an artery (blood vessel) that makes it narrow and decreases the blood flow through it
- Atrial Fibrillation: (an irregular heart beat) that can result in the formation of blood clots in your heart that can then travel up to the blood vessels in your brain and cause a stroke
- Smoking
- Diabetes Mellitus
- High Cholesterol
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol
- Lack of exercise
- Obesity
Other things that increase your chance of having a Stroke cannot be controlled:
- A previous Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Age: 60 years and older
- Family members who have had a Stroke
- Race: African American
How common is stroke?
- 740,000 people in the United States have a Stroke each year
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death
- Every 3 minutes someone dies from a Stroke
- Every 45 second someone has a stroke
- 4 million Americans have survived a Stroke
- Stroke is the leading cause of disability
- 51 billion dollars a year will be spent to care for people who have had a Stroke
