Vascular Disease Vascular Disease Basics

How to Spot a Stroke

While many Americans are familiar with the long-term effects of a stroke, such as its effect on speech and balance, they may not realize that immediate treatment is crucial to minimizing the impact of a stroke on the body.

In most cases, brain cells are damaged during a stroke when blood flow to the brain is blocked by a sudden blood clot. This occurs in the same way that a blood clot in a vessel supplying the heart muscle causes heart attack. If treatment for this type of stroke is received within a few hours, it can help dissolve clots and minimize the potential consequences.

Dr. Thomas Kwiatkowski, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, reviews risk factors, early warning signs of strokes and discusses the many benefits of rehabilitation.

What happens when you have a stroke?
There are really two major types of stroke that we see. The most common type of stroke is what we call an ischemic stroke, and that's where the blockage of the brain results in a loss of blood supply to a part of the brain, which then causes the symptoms.

About 20 percent of all strokes that we see are caused by hemorrhage. In these strokes, bleeding into the brain itself does damage to the brain.

How common is stroke?
Stroke is a very common medical problem in our country. There are about 750,000 new cases a year. There are about three million people living who have had a stroke and who have survived their stroke. It is the third-leading cause of death in this country from any major illness. And it's also the leading cause of disability among adults in this country.

Who is most likely to have stroke?
Like heart disease, stroke is slightly more common in men than in women. Stroke is also a little bit more common in patients who are black or Hispanic. Stroke is also more common as you get older. So the typical patient who has a stroke is about 70 years of age.

What are some of the risk factors for stroke?
There are many risk factors for stroke, and I like to divide them into two categories. There are risk factors that you have no control over such as gender, age or race. Then there are also modifiable risk factors, which can be managed with lifestyle changes or medication. These include high blood pressure or hypertension, heart disease, cigarette smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol. Patients who have a sedentary lifestyle and patients who are overweight all have an increased risk of stroke.

One other thing that recently has been shown to be a risk factor for a stroke is heavy alcohol use.

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