Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Together, heart disease and stroke, along with other cardiovascular disease, are among the most widespread and costly health problems facing the Nation today, accounting approximately $320 billion in health care expenditures and related expenses annually.
Knowing the signs of a stroke is the first step in stroke prevention. A stroke, sometime called brain attack, occurs when blood flow to an area in the brain is cut off. The brain cells, deprived of the oxygen and glucose needed to survive, die. If a stroke is not caught early, permanent brain damage or death can result.
Causes of coronary heart disease and stroke
Healthy blood vessels are flexible, but with age and unhealthy lifestyle choices, they can become thickened and stiff, and this can restrict blood flow around the body. This process is known as arteriosclerosis and is commonly called ‘hardening of the arteries’.
Atherosclerosis is a form of arteriosclerosis that involves a build-up of fatty substances and cellular waste (plaques). These can either partially or totally block blood vessels, or the plaque can break open and trigger a blood clot that also blocks blood flow. Atherosclerosis can occur anywhere in the body. For example, when it occurs in the vessels leading to your arms and legs, it can cause peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
When the process of atherosclerosis occurs in the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle (coronary heart disease or CHD), it can trigger angina or a heart attack.
When this process occurs in arteries supplying blood to the brain, the arteries become narrow with plaques, and a blood clot can form and block the blood supply to the brain (thrombotic stroke). In other cases, a blood clot may travel from elsewhere in the body (such as the heart) and lodge in the narrowed arteries (embolic stroke).
Thrombotic stroke and embolic stroke are both causes of the most common type of stroke, ischaemic stroke. Haemorrhagic stroke, which is less common, occurs when a blood vessel in the brain breaks and bleeds.
Although blocked blood vessels can cause both coronary heart disease and some types of stroke, stroke is not the same as heart disease.
Heart attack
Heart attacks are almost always the result of progressive coronary artery disease (CAD). In CAD, the arteries that supply blood to the heart become choked with fatty deposits called plaque, which narrows and blocks arteries. The condition is called atherosclerosis. When pieces of plaque break free, blood clots can form, blocking the flow of blood to the heart. When that happens, the heart muscle does not get the oxygen and nutrients that it needs, and parts of the heart may become damaged or die. This is a heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction.
Stroke
When the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, causing a part of the brain to die, it is called a stroke, or "brain attack." Stroke is similar to a heart attack, but it affects the blood vessels in the brain instead of the heart.
When the flow of blood to the brain is blocked by a clot, it's called an ischemic stroke. Another type of stroke, called a transient ischemic attack, is sometimes called a "mini stroke" and is caused by a temporary clot.
A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a blood vessel in the brain bursts and bleeds, depriving an area of the brain of blood and causing damage inside the brain. Hemorrhagic stroke are classified in two ways, defined by the type of blood vessel causing the damage. The most common — an aneurysm — occurs when an artery or ordinary blood vessel within the brain balloons, weakens, and bursts. In rare cases, an abnormal, tangled mass of blood vessels will form in the brain. This is called an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Sometimes, one of the vessels within the AVM will burst, causing bleeding and compression in the brain.
Heart Attack Warning Signs
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, causing someone to gasp dramatically, clutch her heart and drop to the ground. No one has any doubts about what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often the people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help.
Here are some of the signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:
• Chest Discomfort
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in Other Areas of the Upper Body
Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of Breath
This feeling may occur with or without chest discomfort.
• Other Signs of Discomfort
These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Women's Heart Attack Symptoms
As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly:
• Pain between or behind shoulder blades
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Back or jaw pain
If you or someone you are with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the other signs, don't wait longer than five minutes before calling for help.
Stroke Warning Signs
Stroke is a medical emergency. Learn to recognize a stroke, because time lost is brain lost. Warning signs include:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
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