There are risk factors that make some people more likely to have a stroke, and there are underlying causes and pre-existing conditions that could actually trigger a stroke. Sometimes, the line between a risk factor and a cause is blurred. A risk factor like high blood pressure, for example, turns … Read More
Hypertension—high blood pressure readings—is dangerous for your brain, especially in terms of stroke risk. (See "New Hypertension Guidelines: Re-evaluating Blood Pressure Standards.") In fact, of the top risk factors for what causes a stroke, Hypertension is the most powerful, according to results from the very large INTERSTROKE study published in … Read More
The term brain attack is often used to describe a stroke. Just as a heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart is interrupted, a brain attack can occur when blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted in a way that injures or kills brain cells. There … Read More
When a blood clot is stopping blood flow to the brain, a powerful clot-busting medication called tPA is used to dissolve the clot and restore blood flow. The drug must be given within 4½ hours after the onset of symptoms, or the risk of causing unwanted bleeding may outweigh the … Read More
A cerebrovascular disease is one caused by arteries blocked by a blood clot, bleeding in or around the brain caused by a ruptured blood vessel, and any change in the brain’s blood vessels that alters the normal flow of blood. “Cerebro” refers to the brain and “vascular” pertains to blood … Read More
Stroke is an emergency. When a stroke occurs, how much brain function is lost—and your ability to survive the stroke--depends on the type of stroke, its location, and how quickly the stroke is treated. Neurologists use the phrase “Time is brain” to underscore the importance of rapid treatment for ischemic … Read More
About 87 percent of strokes are ischemic, meaning they are caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain. Most ischemic strokes are the result of cardiovascular disease, or atherosclerosis. Ischemic stroke causes can also be from a clot (embolism) that forms in the heart or aorta, breaks away, … Read More
When a weakened artery in the brain ruptures, blood flows into the brain, compresses the tissue and kills brain cells. This is a hemorrhagic stroke. About 75 percent of hemorrhagic strokes (13 percent of all strokes) occur within the brain itself. These are called intracerebral hemorrhages. In the other 25 … Read More
For both the youthful and the elderly, diseases can be a reality, and they require attention. Many different diseases can affect the human body, but certain ones rank among the most common causes of major illness in older adults. Some of these elderly diseases affect both men and women and … Read More
Vascular dementia, the second leading kind of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, is relatively unknown and unrecognized by the general population compared to Alzheimer’s. Yet it is responsible for at least 20 percent of cases of dementia.[1] The majority of dementia sufferers actually have both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia; this … Read More
