In a stroke, brain tissue is destroyed as a result of problems with blood supply and, as a result, insufficient oxygen supply to the brain.
As a rule, the onset of a stroke is unexpected, it develops rapidly and in just a few minutes leads to brain damage. But sometimes the condition worsens over several hours or even days. Everyone needs to know about the stroke, symptoms, treatment and consequences of this disease, because nowadays even schoolchildren get to hospitals with this diagnosis.
There are several main signs indicating the onset of a stroke:
- unexpected weakness or insensibility of the face, lower or upper limb;
- problems with speech or its loss, problems with understanding someone else's speech;
- double vision in the eyes;
- loss or deterioration of vision (usually in one eye);
- loss of balance, dizziness;
- recent changes in mental ability or character;
- causeless headache or changes in the usual sensation of pain.
So, we already know what the symptoms of stroke are at the initial stage. Treatment should be carried out as quickly as possible. The sooner the doctors get down to business, the greater the likelihood of reducing damage or even preventing the further development of the disease.
Much is decided in the first hours after a stroke. Usually, specialists immediately install systems that allow intravenous administration of drugs, liquid, and, if necessary, nutrition. Sometimes an oxygen mask is required.
Patients who develop a stroke of the brain are often prescribed drugs that reduce blood coagulation - anticoagulants. For example, it may be heparin. However, they are not given in cases where the stroke is already at the final stage. Do not prescribe them to hypertensive patients and those who have cerebral hemorrhage.
Recent studies have revealed that the development of paralysis and other symptoms can be prevented by injecting drugs that dissolve blood clots within three hours of the onset of a stroke. For example, it can be fibrinolysin or streptokinase. True, this method is effective only in cases where the cause of a stroke is a blood clot, and not bleeding.
Sometimes treatment involves surgical intervention (if the lumen of the carotid artery narrows more than 70%) - only in this case can the patient avoid the risk of having a second stroke. Symptoms, treatment and its consequences can be much more complicated and harder than with the first stroke.
Corticosteroids, mannitol and some other medicines are usually prescribed in the first days after a stroke to reduce swelling and pressure on the brain.
Often, concomitant conditions have to be treated in parallel, including heart failure, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and pneumonia. If the patient has depression, the help of a psychotherapist is necessary.
A stroke, the treatment of which is not limited to stabilization of the pulse, blood pressure and respiration, also requires rehabilitation. Diversified specialists help the patient once again learn to speak, walk, and return to a familiar life. After discharge from the hospital, rehabilitation continues at home and at specialized rehabilitation centers.
Speaking about a stroke, symptoms, treatment of this disease, it is important to remind once again that the sooner you find its signs, the more likely it is that important parts of the patient’s brain will not be damaged at all or these damage will be minimal.