Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, depriving brain cells of oxygen. The two main types are ischemic, caused by blockage of an artery, and hemorrhagic, caused by a ruptured blood vessel in the brain. Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and family history. Symptoms depend on the affected brain region and can include paralysis and cognitive impairments. Treatment focuses on dissolving clots or repairing ruptured vessels to restore blood flow. Nearly 800,000 Americans experience a stroke each year, making it a leading cause of disability and death.

1. Disease
By Taylor Odenat
J Band

2. First and foremost, what is stroke? Stroke is
a disease that affects the arteries leading to and
within the brain. A stroke can also be defined as a
condition in which the brain cells suddenly die
because of a lack of oxygen. There are two major
types of strokes consisting of Hemorrhagic Stroke
and Ischemic Stroke. Ischemic strokes account for
80% of all strokes while Hemorrhagic Stroke
accounts for 20% of all strokes.

3. Ischemic stroke occurs when an artery to the
brain is blocked, usually by a blood clot and a
portion of the brain becomes deprived of oxygen
and will stop working.
Ischemic stroke can be caused by several
different kinds of diseases. The most common
problem is narrowing of the arteries in the neck or
head. This is most often caused by atherosclerosis,
or hardening of the arteries. Other diseases include
Infection of the heart valves, heart attack, heart
failure.

4. Hemorrhagic Stroke
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in your brain
leaks or ruptures. Hemorrhagic strokes are grouped according to
location of the blood vessel:
--Intracerebral hemorrhage: Bleeding in the brain
--Subarachnoid hemorrhage: Bleeding in the area between the brain and
the thin tissues that cover the brain
Symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke include:
• Difficulty speaking or understanding others
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty writing or reading
• Headache

5. Normal Brain
Brain after Stroke

7. How can I prevent this disease?
Eat a healthy diet.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Don’t Smoke.
Be physically active.
Limit alcohol use.
Prevent or treat high cholesterol.
Prevent or treat high blood pressure.

9. What parts of the body is affected by
strokes?
Strokes occur in the brain and are caused by
blood clots in the brain. Stroke can lead to lasting brain
damage that can inhibit the function of any body part
and may cause lack of muscle control, paralysis, changes
in mood or personality and a reduction of intellectual
ability. The effects of the stroke on your body depends
on where the stroke occurred:
BACK: The ability to see
LEFT: The ability to read, write, and talk
FRONT: The ability to control emotions and make
decisions
RIGHT: The ability to judge distances.

10. Who are affected by strokes?
Believe it or not, anyone can suffer from a
stroke. Although many of the risk factors for
stroke is put of our control, such as if strokes are
hereditary in your family, but in most cases
strokes are as a result of one’s personal lifestyle.
Stroke is more common in men than in women.
In most age groups, more men than women will
have a stroke in a given year. However, more
than half of total stroke deaths occur in women.

11. What are the risk factors for getting stroke?
• Over age 55
• Diabetes
• Over age 55
• Male
• Obesity and overweight
• Male
• Cardiovascular disease
• African American, Hispanicor Asian/Pacific Islander
• African American, Hispanic or
• A family history of stroke
• A previous stroke or transient
ischemic attack (TIA)
• High •blood pressure
High blood pressure
• High levels of homocysteine (an amino
acid in blood)
Asian/Pacific Islander
• A family history of stroke
• High cholesterol
• High cholesterol
• Birth control use or other hormone
therapy
• Smoking cigarettes
• Smoking cigarettes
• Cocaine use

13. Treating Ischemic Stroke
Treatment for an ischemic stroke or TIA may
include medicines and medical procedures.
A medicine called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)
can break up blood clots in the arteries of the brain.
A doctor will inject tPA into a vein in your arm. This
medicine must be given within 4 hours of the start
of symptoms to work. Researchers are testing other
treatments for ischemic stroke, such as intraarterial thrombolysis (throm-BOL-ih-sis) and
mechanical clot (embolus) removal in cerebral
ischemia (MERCI).

14. To treat a hemorrhagic stroke you must first
find the cause of bleeding in the brain and then
control it. If high blood pressure is the cause of
bleeding in the brain, your doctor may prescribe
medicines to lower your blood pressure. This can
help prevent further bleeding.
Surgery also may be needed to treat a
hemorrhagic stroke. The types of surgery used
include aneurysm clipping, coil embolization (EMbol-ih-ZA-shun), and arteriovenous malformation
(AVM) repair.

15. How many Americans are
affected by stroke?
In the United States, approximately
795,000 strokes occur each year. Strokes are a
leading cause of long-lasting injury, disability,
and death. Stroke is the third leading cause of
death in the United States. Stroke death rates
are higher for African-Americans than for
whites, even at younger ages. On average,
someone in the United States has a stroke every
40 seconds.

16. Current Events on Stroke
Stroke Prevention Device Misses Key Goal in
Study
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 9, 2013
This article is about research being done on a heart device that
is directed at preventing people with irregular heartbeats from
getting strokes. Early results from a key study of the device
found that this device may not be better than a drug that is
used to prevent strokes, heart-related deaths and blood clots in
people with atrial fibrillation in the long term.