How to determine a microstroke? What is a microstroke, its consequences and treatment

In medicine there is no such thing as a microstroke. There is only the term "stroke", which is an acute violation of cerebral circulation. A person manifests neurological symptoms within minutes. However, in practice, both doctors and patients often use the word “microstroke”. How to determine this disease? How does it differ from a regular stroke? What signs and symptoms occur with pathology? Let's talk about this in this article.

Terminology

Microstroke is a necrosis of brain tissue that occurs due to a sharp narrowing of a small vessel. Often it is confused with transient ischemic attack (TIA), when brain nutrition deteriorates, and this leads to the appearance of temporary symptoms of disorders of the central nervous system of the body. I must say that the attack is always reversible and does not bring brain tissue to necrosis. A microstroke is characterized by the fact that necrotic changes are minimal, there is no complete irreversibility of the process. After this, the patient has a chance to recover and compensate.

How to determine a microstroke? In fact, this is the same as a regular stroke, only the first affects the small vessels of the central nervous system. Therefore, the deviation is not so noticeable, and the recovery period is significantly reduced. A microstroke is rather insidious, because a person does not know what happened. Although the disease is the first warning, a wake-up call, in the future the real risk of a real stroke increases. It is possible to determine the hemorrhage that has occurred in the brain only after a pathological examination.

The main differences

According to statistics, about four hundred thousand cases of stroke occur annually, with thirty-five percent of cases ending in death. A microstroke is a necrosis of brain tissue due to a blood clot or a sharp narrowing (ischemic) of a small vessel. Due to a violation of blood supply, point lesions develop in the brain tissue. Since the pathological process affects very small parts of the structure, there are no disturbances characteristic of a “classic” stroke.

What is the difference between a microstroke and a stroke? The main difference is short duration, transient ischemic attack manifests itself for several hours, and sometimes minutes. As a result, the capabilities of the brain are restored to a greater extent. With a stroke, as a rule, all processes are irreversible. In practice, in most cases, a microstroke is untimely diagnosed. The victim does not always understand what is happening to him. If the patient seeks medical help in the first three hours, the chances of recovery are pretty high. We will talk about how to determine a microstroke in a person below.

What causes the pathology?

Most people believe that stroke and microstroke affect the elderly or people over the age of forty-five. However, the risk of developing the disease increases greatly after thirty. At risk are weather-dependent people who are constantly in a state of chronic stress, overwork and with excessive physical exertion.

In addition, it is worth noting that there are a number of pathologies, the development of which increases the risk of developing transient ischemic attack:

• hypertension, high blood pressure;
• cerebral arteriosclerosis;
• myocardial infarction;
• atrial fibrillation, tachyarrhythmia and bradyarrhythmia.

How to determine if there was a microstroke?

Any one symptom can be attributed to the general malaise of the body, but if several symptoms occur, this is a sure sign of a transient ischemic attack. Consider the main ones:

1. Numbness of the upper and lower extremities with a complete loss of sensitivity, lack of control over the facial muscles.
2. The weakness of the arms and legs is more displayed on one side.
3. Deviation in coordination, difficulties during movement, gait syndrome of a drunken person.
4. Visual impairment, the effect of bifurcation, dispersion, not allowing you to see equally well with two eyes.
5. In most cases, a person loses consciousness briefly, while black or white spots flicker in front of his eyes.
6. Problems with speech, it becomes inarticulate, burry, intermittent, lisping, the tongue swells and the person has the feeling that he is uncontrollable.
7. A constant feeling of a coma in the throat, which is unrealistic to swallow, the appearance of a gag reflex, bouts of nausea.
8. Chills and the appearance of pimples on the skin, high blood pressure as a protective reaction of the body, unexplained fatigue, dehydration.

Some symptoms are more pronounced depending on the affected area. If disorders are localized in the left hemisphere, signs are observed on the right side of the body and vice versa. How to determine a microstroke in a person? You need to be careful and carefully monitor your health. It is worth noting that the symptoms are one-time in nature and are pronounced after a spike in blood pressure. The above symptoms are not detected at the same time, but if at least two or three match, you need to call a doctor. With the provision of timely medical care, the prognosis is rather favorable.

Gender differences, stroke in men

Symptoms mentioned above can occur in both sexes. But there are some signs that are more often and stronger in men. For example, consciousness is often confused, an uncontrolled feeling of fatigue, drowsiness and weakness appears. Representatives of the stronger sex are more susceptible to the following changes: unstable gait, hearing loss, slurred speech, unexpected headaches.

Some symptoms in both sexes occur with the same frequency. It is worth noting that they have a complete absence of external manifestations of pathology.

The first signs and symptoms of microstroke in women and men

It must be said that gradation takes place due to the functional characteristics of the organism. Women are more prone to the occurrence of a microstroke and its usual form of manifestation (stroke). This is due to the physiological characteristics of the fairer sex. There is a high risk of vascular pathology and blood clots.

Transient ischemic attack in women is more stealthy. Often, the symptoms of pathology are confused with manifestations of hormonal abnormalities. Representatives of the weaker sex tend to react more emotionally to problems, as a result of which a stressful situation develops. This increases the chance of being at risk.

Consider the first symptoms and signs of a microstroke in women and men:

• numbness and loss of sensitivity of the facial muscles;
• unpleasant tingling sensation in the upper and lower extremities;
• rapid breathing, facial flushing, convulsive uncontrolled muscle contractions;
• the effect of "goosebumps" at normal temperature;
• deviations in speech, there is a difficulty in correctly constructing sentences, incomprehensibility of the words spoken;
• acute headache, which comes unexpectedly and is not confirmed in any way, a feeling of darkening in the eyes, unexpected hiccups;
• psychological type disorders, outburst of uncontrolled emotions, depression, nervous breakdowns;
• sharp pain in the lower and upper limbs, loss of consciousness or orientation in space, coughing attacks, from which you suffocate;
• pain in the chest, a sharp acceleration of the heartbeat.

An interesting fact: in smokers of the weaker sex, a microstroke occurs many times more often than in smokers.

Prerequisites for disruption of blood vessels

Suspicion of a microstroke cannot be singled out somehow. All factors that indicate the possibility of pathology may indicate other diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

In fact, these are standard causes that provoke pathology. And yet, how to determine if there was a microstroke? We will try to highlight the most common grounds that can be determined by collecting an anamnesis:

• improper diet, which leads to constant overeating, unbalanced food intake, which contains excessive amounts of animal fats, and they adversely affect the body;
• overweight, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle, lack of dynamics;
• constant feeling of overwork, inadequate reaction to stress, leading to nervous breakdowns, too much physical activity;
• ecological situation is poor; transferred cardiological operations;
• abrupt climate change and cold weather.

Risk group

Above, we talked about how a microstroke manifests itself. Now it's time to consider the categories of individuals and patients who are more at risk for stroke than other people. This list automatically includes individuals who lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, age is not a determining criterion. During the session and exams, when the central nervous system is rebooted, pathology can also occur in students. Of course, a microstroke in old age is more common, but this is not the main factor. In women, the likelihood of developing a transient ischemic attack increases after sixty years, in the stronger sex - after forty.

The following categories of people fall into the risk group:

1. People suffering from hypertension, that is, the problem of high blood pressure.
2. Hereditary predisposition. If there was a case of a micro stroke or myocardial infarction in the family, automatically all members of the cell of society fall into this group.
3. Pregnant women are at risk, it is also worth noting representatives of the weaker sex who use contraceptives.
4. Patients suffering from blood diseases, diabetes. The latter is able to provoke a blockage of the vessels of the brain.
5. People who suffer from obesity have a high chance of "getting under the hand" because of hypertension. Bad habits, such as the abuse of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, contribute to the development of pathology.
6. Vascular problems are present in meteorological people who are difficult to tolerate climate change and complain of a headache.

What should I look for?

In some cases, it is easier for people from the outside to see the pathology than to the victim himself. How to determine a microstroke?

First, you need to follow the attentiveness of another person. For example, he held the item firmly in his hand and dropped it. He cannot immediately orient and raise it. Secondly, the patient behaves as if he is intoxicated. Often there are attacks of hiccups. Thirdly, speech after a microstroke suffers greatly. The person with whom you had a lively conversation suddenly falls silent, his speech becomes incoherent, meaningless. To achieve an adequate answer, you have to repeat and ask several times. In most cases, the patient does not respond to treatment, he is lost.

First aid

What to do after a microstroke? The victim must be given first aid before the ambulance arrives. As already noted, signs and symptoms may vary depending on the patient's gender and location of the focus. External examination will not give any fruit, in any case, it is necessary to call an ambulance. The main goal of first aid is to stop the lesion of the central nervous system and to minimize serious consequences.

Consider the step by step instructions:

1. The victim must create absolute peace. The patient must be laid on high halves so that the head is raised thirty degrees.
2. If there is uncomfortable and tight clothing, you need to take it off, the room where the patient is located should be aired periodically.
3. If a person has vomiting, turn his head to the side so that the masses do not enter the respiratory system of the body.
4. If possible, you can make a hot bath for the legs, it is better to attach ice to the back of the head. One of the main goals is to calm the person, any sedative such as valerian or hawthorn is suitable.
5. It is not enough just to ensure peace, it is necessary to constantly ensure that the victim is not involved in sudden movements, and does not try to get up.
6. In this situation, a light head massage does not hurt: it is recommended to make circular strokes from the temples to the back of the head, from the crown to the shoulder, then smoothly move to the knees.

Even if after some time the patient feels better, the ambulance call should not be canceled in any case. It is impossible to identify abnormalities in the work of the brain at home. The victim is most likely hospitalized, where they will conduct a thorough examination and make a diagnosis.

Treatment

Diagnosis of a microstroke in women is practically nothing special. A microstroke often passes unnoticed by a person. Therefore, as a rule, to reveal the fact of its presence in the past is possible only with the passage of an MRI of the brain. In the picture you can examine in detail all the structures of the brain and see the smallest - up to fractions of a millimeter - foci of lesions. Using MRI, you can also monitor the dynamics of regression or "resorption" of pathological foci.

With a microstroke, cells first die. But due to the nature of the attack, lost brain functions recover over time. To fully recover, it is necessary to provide medical care within the first three hours. To prescribe the optimal, most effective therapy, the doctor needs to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis and study the patient's medical history.

The approach to treatment is different for different specialists. Well-established complex therapy, including the following components:

• Thrombolytics. But the effect of thrombolytic therapy can be obtained only within 72 hours from the onset of thrombosis.
• Anticoagulants - heparin and its low molecular weight analogues.
• Disaggregants - agents that prevent the "knocking down" of blood cells: "Aspirin", "Clopidogrel", etc.
• Diuretics, especially Mannitol.
• Antihypertensive drugs - they use both "emergency" drugs and constant, specially selected therapy in the recovery period.
• Neuroprotectors - a wide group of drugs and vitamins for maintaining brain cells during the recovery phase - antioxidant complex, B vitamins, magnesium, nootropics and so on.

Medicines with a microstroke are prescribed individually in each case. The main goal of any therapy is to prevent a new attack. After all, after a micro stroke, the probability of a full-fledged stroke automatically increases. Sometimes this pathology occurs in newborns and young children. Treatment in this situation should be given special attention. Most medicines are quite aggressive and are not intended for the child's body.

After the main treatment, supportive therapy is required. In the process of rehabilitation, it is recommended to use massage, medical gymnastics, to take classes at a speech therapist. Recovery after a micro stroke is also facilitated by a balanced diet, as well as the principle of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Foreign experts confidently claim that pine cones are an effective method during rehabilitation.

Effects

The manifestation of brain tissue necrosis is often associated with depression, nervous breakdowns, fatigue, overwork at work, etc. Even if the signs are not pronounced, the consequences can be most serious: unexplained irritability and aggression, memory impairment, distraction, etc. Emotional deviations are more characteristic of the fairer sex. In men, deviations in cerebral blood supply are manifested by malfunctions of the internal organs and sexual dysfunction. In some cases, limb numbness occurs.

The consequences of a microstroke can be very serious. According to statistics, complications appear in the first three days. Most people significantly increase the likelihood of developing ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. More than half of the victims in the future experience a transient ischemic attack constantly.

As for the consequences of a microstroke carried over on the legs, they do not show anything. The only such symptom significantly complicates the diagnosis and often causes all kinds of complications. Elimination of the causes of the attack will accelerate full recovery.

Preventative measures

The first stroke is the main warning of the body. This is a signal that you need to carefully monitor your health. To minimize the possibility of the development of another microstroke, you must follow the recommendations:

1. It is necessary to check blood pressure, this is a prerequisite for prevention, because high blood pressure is considered the most common cause of microstroke.
2. It is necessary to abandon bad habits. Drinking alcohol after a stroke is contraindicated.
3. Adjust your diet. The main thing is to prevent obesity, you should get rid of excess weight. A nutritionist and a neurologist will make you a diet that you must follow.
4. Where without sports. Physical activity is welcome in any of its directions. Performing exercises not only strengthens the body and spirit, but also improves the performance of the brain.
5. A full sleep and the ability to find a way out of stressful situations are important components of preventive measures.

In this article, we talked about what a microstroke is, its consequences and treatments, as well as the causes and risk groups. It can be concluded that despite a favorable prognosis, one should not delay with medical help. Self-medication is suitable only as first aid, in no other way. After all, it is not only ineffective, but also dangerous. You need to know about the signs of a microstroke and methods of prevention. Perhaps in the future this knowledge will save someone's life.