StrokeStroke
Stroke, also called cerebral vascular accident (CVA), occurs when the blood flow to part of the brain is disrupted. There are primarily
two categories of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic. The most frequent cause of stroke is a blockage (ischemic) of a blood vessel in
the brain. The blockage can have several causes but all with the same result, brain cell damage or death. Brain cells cannot survive
without a blood supply of oxygen and nutrients. Blockage of blood flow in the brain can be caused by a clot in a blood vessel
(thrombosis) of the brain, the movement of a clot from another part of the body (embolism) to the brain, or a severe narrowing of an
artery in the brain (stenosis). In a hemorrhagic stroke, a blood vessel in the brain bursts, bleeding into the brain (intracerebral
hemorrhage) or into the spaces surrounding the brain.
SYMPTOMS.
The signs and symptoms of stroke depend on the areas of the brain affected and the functions they control. The right cerebral
hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left cerebral hemisphere controls the right side of the body. The symptoms of
stroke may be:
sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body
sudden confusion, difficulty speaking, or understanding speech
sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
sudden trouble walking
sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
sudden severe headache
paralysis, pain
