Author Topic: Health: let's talk about stroke.  (Read 6833 times)

fruitcake

  • some kind of fruitcake
Health: let's talk about stroke.
« on: 26 March, 2021, 12:52:57 pm »
I've been reflecting on the news that a regular contributor to YACF has suffered a stroke and I realised I didn't actually know what stroke was. I believed it had some connection with heart attack since they are often discussed together. So I looked it up. The simple answer is that a stroke is caused by a blood clot in the brain. When you think about the importance of the brain for the normal working of the human body, you realise that a blood clot there can be catastrophic.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/leadingcausesofdeathuk/2001to2018
Stroke is among the leading causes of death in the UK, and has been for decades. It is the bottom band on that bar chart, the band labelled cerebrovascular disease. 

For those who want to read up on the topic, there's info at the Stroke Association website. This includes info on how to spot the early signs of a stroke.
https://www.stroke.org.uk/

And here is the general info from NHS on stroke prevention.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stroke/prevention/

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #1 on: 26 March, 2021, 01:10:11 pm »
You also get brain aneurysms, when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures.  This is a brilliant description of what it's like to have one: https://youtu.be/UyyjU8fzEYU   It's from 2008 and only in 240p but well worth the listen, if you can tolerate what my FiL would have called the airy-fairy side of it.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #2 on: 26 March, 2021, 01:39:17 pm »
Maybe this could be shifted to Health Matters?  Both posts are useful but I think it might be helpful to point out that the type of stroke caused by a clot IS owing to heart problems and that the two are inextricably connected.  This thread (sadly for me!) refers:-

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=113146.0

Peter

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #3 on: 26 March, 2021, 02:14:48 pm »
Heart and other problems, e.g. Covid-19 can pepper you with clots all over.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #4 on: 26 March, 2021, 02:31:43 pm »
Sketchy memories...

Two main types of stroke
TIA - Trans Ischeamic Attack
CVA - Cardio Vascular Aneurism

Neither are particularly good, a TIA can be a predictor of an impending CVA.

Any sign of one happening (one sided paralysis) is time to get to the ED ASAP.
Aye it could possibly be bells palsy or something, but the sooner you get treated the more chance of survival you have.



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Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #5 on: 26 March, 2021, 03:13:43 pm »

Two main types of stroke
TIA - Trans Ischeamic Attack
CVA - Cardio Vascular Aneurism

3 main types of stroke:

Ischaemic (blockage)
Haemorrhagic (bleeding)
Transient ischaemic attack (temporary blockage)

CVA: cerebrovascular accident. A term for strokes that has fallen out of favour, as they are not accidents.


Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #6 on: 26 March, 2021, 03:25:37 pm »

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #7 on: 26 March, 2021, 03:31:56 pm »


Excellent timing, I was about to post the same.

If calling an ambulance for someone else, saying "patient is fast positive" can speed things up nicely.

As a general rule, the faster an ambulance gets to you, the better. We're seeing recoveries now that would be unheard of as little as 10 years ago. Pre hospital care has come on massively.

Some strokes can be treated with clot busting drugs, for others they feed a catheter up via an artery in the leg, which basically has a cork screw on the end, and use that to pull the blockage out.

Stroke is a clot in the brain. A heart attack is a clot in the heart. Older people who live alone, and that are at risk of stroke, there are things such as panic buttons that can be literal life savers. I've no idea who you should contact about this tho if you're worried about this wrt to yourself or someone you know.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #8 on: 26 March, 2021, 04:15:43 pm »
Not always clots. As Sgt P has said a couple of posts up thread, bleeds and temporary occlusions also cause Strokes.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #9 on: 26 March, 2021, 04:21:57 pm »
Heart and other problems, e.g. Covid-19 can pepper you with clots all over.

You shouldn't really talk about hospital volunteers like that - though I've met a few tabard-fixated power-monkeys!

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #10 on: 26 March, 2021, 04:40:22 pm »

Two main types of stroke
TIA - Trans Ischeamic Attack
CVA - Cardio Vascular Aneurism

3 main types of stroke:

Ischaemic (blockage)
Haemorrhagic (bleeding)
Transient ischaemic attack (temporary blockage)

CVA: cerebrovascular accident. A term for strokes that has fallen out of favour, as they are not accidents.
Told you the memory was sketchy!

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk


Blodwyn Pig

  • what a nice chap
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #11 on: 26 March, 2021, 04:56:29 pm »
I have known 2 people who have survived strokes completely, both though, did have personality changes, one significantly for the better.

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #12 on: 26 March, 2021, 05:07:58 pm »
I have known 2 people who have survived strokes completely, both though, did have personality changes, one significantly for the better.
I'm intrigued, particularly about the latter part of your post.
Care to elaborate?
No pressure.

Blodwyn Pig

  • what a nice chap
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #13 on: 26 March, 2021, 05:26:15 pm »
I have known 2 people who have survived strokes completely, both though, did have personality changes, one significantly for the better.
I'm intrigued, particularly about the latter part of your post.
Care to elaborate?
No pressure.

ex partners father, he was always very standoffish, to his children when they were young, would ignore them in the street, then in late 60's he decided t up sticks with the younger members and his wife and move to South Africa, leaving behind the older ones that didn't want to go..  Decent chap but stone cold fish. Years later he had a bad stroke, was spoon fed etc, but he recovered, then about 30 years ago ( in his early 70's) they moved back to UK, and they met up for first time in years, and he walked up to her and gave her a huge hug, then shook my hand vigorously, and he was so warm and friendly, she didn't recognise him. Complete change of personality.

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #14 on: 26 March, 2021, 05:30:55 pm »
I have known 2 people who have survived strokes completely, both though, did have personality changes, one significantly for the better.
I'm intrigued, particularly about the latter part of your post.
Care to elaborate?
No pressure.


ex partners father, he was always very standoffish, to his children when they were young, would ignore them in the street, then in late 60's he decided t up sticks with the younger members and his wife and move to South Africa, leaving behind the older ones that didn't want to go..  Decent chap but stone cold fish. Years later he had a bad stroke, was spoon fed etc, but he recovered, then about 30 years ago ( in his early 70's) they moved back to UK, and they met up for first time in years, and he walked up to her and gave her a huge hug, then shook my hand vigorously, and he was so warm and friendly, she didn't recognise him. Complete change of personality.
Ta.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #15 on: 26 March, 2021, 05:44:50 pm »
Sketchy memories...

Two main types of stroke
TIA - Trans Ischeamic Attack
CVA - Cardio Vascular Aneurism

Neither are particularly good, a TIA can be a predictor of an impending CVA.
Any sign of one happening (one sided paralysis) is time to get to the ED ASAP.
Aye it could possibly be bells palsy or something, but the sooner you get treated the more chance of survival you have.
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

CVA = Cerebro Vascular Accident

Transient ischaemic attack is a short-lived episode with full recovery.

Blood vessels anywhere can suffer one of several sorts of mishap: they can
Burst/bleed
Block, due to a clot that's travelled from elsewhere, one that's developed on the spot, or from thickening of the vessel wall.

ian

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #16 on: 26 March, 2021, 07:03:43 pm »
Our next door neighbour had a stroke, lay there for four days, which we feel bad about (she's a very independent widow so while we always chatted to her, and asked her if she needed anything when the COVID thing kicked off, she mostly kept herself to herself).

It was mostly luck she was found, we can't see into her garden or house, it was just chance that a guy on the street below was trimming some bushes at the bottom of his garden which abuts hers and he heard something, couldn't figure out what but thought it was a voice, so he called the police who had to break-in and found her on the floor of her conservatory.

She survived and is in a rehabilitation place a year later, but it's unlikely she'll ever be well enough to come back home apparently, according to the friend of hers who comes around to check the house every week.

Chris S

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #17 on: 26 March, 2021, 07:12:59 pm »
My Dad died of a stroke. It's the kind of scenario you sort of "hope for" I guess, given how debilitating and scary surviving a stroke can be. He'd already said to Mum he was feeling "weird", and I presume he knew he was dying, and had just enough time/function to say to her "You'll be alright" before closing his eyes next to her in bed, whereupon he died there in her arms.

Stroke comes in all shapes and sizes, and types.

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
    • Twitter
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #18 on: 26 March, 2021, 07:29:50 pm »
I do think the whole classing both a clot and a bleed as a stroke a bit confusing.  Presumably you don't want to be giving clot busting drugs to someone having a bleed.

My cousin's wife had a bleed a few years ago, their youngest child was still pretty small, she would have been in her 40's I think. When he first visited her in hospital once she'd started to recover she didn't recognise him and was startled to find out she was married (she told him to GTF). Think she's mainly fine now, though does scatty stuff like leave her bank card in shops on a regular basis.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #19 on: 26 March, 2021, 07:41:50 pm »
Cycling does not protect against strokes as well as it does against heart disease.  Many strokes have no known cause but there are two big risk factors: any heart murmur (arrythmia), and high blood pressure.  Don't ignore either of these, and the former often runs in families.

The haemorrhagic kind is hard to predict but you can at least reduce the risk of the clotting kind.  If you're at risk, they'll put you on warfarin or similar and the prognosis is pretty good.  My sister was an anti-coagulant Sister for decades.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #20 on: 26 March, 2021, 07:51:29 pm »
A heart murmur is due to turbulence in the fluid path.
An arrhythmia is a problem with the heart rhythm.
These two are not the same.

People with rhythm trouble, like AF, can have clots develop in a stagnant corner of the heart and these can travel north to the brain, causing an 'embolic' stroke.
People with high blood pressure can burst a blood vessel in the brain, causing 'haemorrhagic' stroke.

Both rhythm trouble and high blood pressure can and should be treated to try to prevent stroke.

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #21 on: 26 March, 2021, 08:04:59 pm »
My Gran died of a stroke, aged 70 in the mid 1980's and never woke up, died two days later.

However 7 years ago a colleague had a stroke at the office. He had flown between Australia and the UK 3 times in two weeks, one morning he woke up in the hotel and his wife thought he wasn't right but he played it down and came into work anyway. Then on a conference call someone else in the meeting realised his face was drooping on one side and his speech wasn't clear, and came to me as I had a fire wardens vest (rather than being a first aider). We took all decision making away and called an ambulance for him and summoned an office first aider. The only time I have ever had to use the first aid phone number at work; "assistance to the second floor please, suspected stroke" wasn't what the first aider who answered was expecting! He was fortunate and made a full recovery, and was back in the office two weeks later. Reports from hospital had said that he was only an hour or two from a point of no return.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #22 on: 26 March, 2021, 08:07:03 pm »
Presumably you don't want to be giving clot busting drugs to someone having a bleed..

Definitely not!
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #23 on: 26 March, 2021, 08:24:27 pm »
J, that's something that puzzled me, when I went to A & E after my TIA.  They thought it probably had been a TIA, though with no imaging, and prescribed aspirin as a blood thinner until I could be seen by specialists (which took a surprisingly long time - several days, maybe even a fortnight).  So, without knowing whether or not I'd bust a blood vessel, they prescribed blood-thinning, presumably based on probability.  Luckily someone up there doesn't want me.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Health: let's talk about stroke.
« Reply #24 on: 26 March, 2021, 08:38:26 pm »
TIAs are frequently due to small platelet 'clots' travelling north from a rough patch in the carotid arteries or a stagnant pool in the heart. Anti-platelet medications reduce aggregation.