What Is A Stroke and How Do You Know If You Are Having One?

It was a night that I will always remember and a phone call that I hope I never get again which has prompted me to write this particular hub article.

I was having a rough night pain-wise and had finally been able to get some sleep when I was woken up by the telephone ringing.

Now I am smart enough to know that phone calls in the wee hours of the night/morning usually means something's wrong and it definitely was the case this time as I listened to my 'freaked out' mother tell me that my father had just suffered a stroke and/or heart attack and was being put in a ambulance to be taken to the emergency department of the nearest major hospital.

Unfortunately for me, my folks do not live nearby and in amongst throwing water on my face to wake me up and getting dressed in super-human time, I prayed that dad would 'hang in there' until I could be with mum as I was a good few hours away.

He (and his Guardian Angel) must have heard my prayer as he was 'still with us' although not in the best of health when I arrived.

After a week or so in one hospital he was transferred to another and during his stay in hospital had several surgeries to find out what had caused his stroke, he was allowed to come home and then the fun and games of rehabilitation and visiting this specialist for that and that specialist for this all started (and still continues).

So what exactly is a Stroke? One thing that I learned during his hospitalisation was that it is not a Heart Attack!

A simple definition of a Stroke is when a person suffers from an Apoplexy.

An apoplexy is a form of striking-down malady, ailment, disease or injury to the brain and such an event is more likely to happen at a time when excitement or overwork raises the blood pressure beyond even its usual level.

The rupture of an artery within the brain is a particularly serious phenomenon and when a stroke occurs, the flow of blood to a part of the brain is all of a sudden cut-off and as a result of this blockage, all the structures connected with that part of the brain is injured or damaged in some way and paralysis or death follows quickly.

There are several reasons that can cause this failure of the blood to reach parts of the brain with the most obvious one being the consequences of a blood vessel having ruptured, which in turn causes a Cerebral or Brain Haemorrhage to occur.

If a blood clot or Thrombosis which forms within a blood vessel in an arteriole of the brain is as effective as a vessel rupture in bringing on the likelihood of a person having a stroke.

There may be a spasm of an artery or a blood vessel that might become closed off because of a small particle, often a blood clot, floating in the blood stream and this is called an Embolus.

Another reason for a blood clot to occur is as a result of the person having a disease called Artherosclerosis, which is usually referred to as a hardening of the arteries.

The artherosclerotic deposition narrows the arteries and will lead to a decrease in the arteries flexibility as well.

This normally results in the pressure increasing within the artery and a decrease in the blood flow which can bring about a Coronary Thrombosis otherwise known as a Heart Attack or a Aneurysm which is the name given for a weakness in the artery wall from past injury and/or damage or plaque build-up.

Most people have a stroke as a result of a Blood Clot or Thrombosis and strangely enough, a person can have this kind of Stroke after a period of inactivity and rest more often than that of intense activity.

For example, a person might wake up in the morning to discover that an arm or a leg or even a whole side of the body is useless and they have trouble moving it.

The person may also find that they can hardly speak or is not able to speak at all.

People who experience this kind of stroke have a pretty good chance of recovery, but there is usually some, even if only just noticeable, permanent damage or disability.

If you suspect that you may have suffered a stroke it is advisable that you seek urgent medical attention.

In treating a patient for a suspected stroke, the doctor has to find out what has caused it, so he will need a complete history of the illness/illnesses of the person.

People who become physically impaired or crippled in some way as a result of having a stroke can often be rehabilitated, that is, trained to regain the use of the bodily function that was damaged, such as learning to re-use muscles in order to walk again and having speech therapy done to gain back the ability to speak again (as in my dad's case).

Although I could have written a far more medically-detailed version of this Hub Article, my aim was solely to help raise awareness of What Is A Stroke and How Do You Know If You Are Having One?

I intend on linking this hub article to another that I have written on What Is A Heart Attack and How Do You Know If You Are Having One?

In Australlia, the government and various Health Departments have been promoting The FAST Test for Stroke Awareness.

I am sure that other governments throughout the world would have the same if not similar version of the FAST Test that they would be promoting.

The FAST Test has been shown to be a simple way to remember how to recognise the most common signs of having a stroke.

The FAST test involves asking yourself or another person three simple questions.

If either you or the person has a problem with any of these functions, seek medical attention immediately by ringing for an ambulance.

The FAST Test acronym means :

Facial weakness
Look to see if the person can smile? Look to see if their mouth or eyes have drooped?

Arm weakness
Is the person able to raise both of their arms?

Speech difficulty
Is the person able to speak clearly and understand what you are saying to them?

Time to act
You need to act FAST and seek medical attention immediately.

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UrsulaRose

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