| The Western medical term used for a stroke--cerebral
vascular accident--describes what causes it very well: an event which drastically reduces
the flow of blood to a part of the brain. There are several different types of strokes.
The Western term "transient ischemic attack" describes the most common type of
stroke, one which is transient, or only of short duration and which results from a
momentary blockage of an artery which supplies blood to the brain. The symptoms it
produces may vary from dizziness with nausea to weakness or numbness which goes away
rapidly. Even though it is transient, this type of stroke is still a serious occurrence
which may signal a catastrophic event in the future and should be evaluated by a doctor. The other forms of strokes are caused by a longer blockage in one of the
arteries supplying the brain with blood or by bleeding from an artery within the brain.
The blockages may result from blood clots carried by the blood from some other part of the
body, often the heart itself or the large arteries in the neck. A clot may also form in a
portion of an artery which has been narrowed by deposits of cholesterol and other material
within the wall of the artery, a process called arteriosclerosis. Bleeding within the
brain results in a hemorrhagic stroke. Damage to brain tissue can result both from the
interruption the flow of blood and from the bleeding itself.
Symptoms of stroke
The symptoms of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is
involved. Some strokes are accompanied by nausea or dizziness. In other cases the person
may lose consciousness, complain of a loss of vision or of numbness, or be unable to speak
or to move one side of his or her body, including the face, the torso, or an arm or a leg.
There may be a drooping of one side of the face. The person may also complain of a severe
headache.
If any of these symptoms occur an ambulance should be called
immediately. Before the ambulance arrives the person should be kept quiet and warm but
should not be moved if at all possible. If the patient is unconscious he or she should be
placed on his or her stomach with the head turned to the side so as to enable the patient
to breathe if he or she should vomit. The person should never be given anything to eat or
to drink.
Treatments
New treatments for stroke patients are being developed all the time,
but each requires that the person be treated in the hospital within a very few hours after
the symptoms begin. Many people believe that their weakness or numbness will pass after a
while, especially if they have had a transient ischemic attack before, and may not get to
the hospital in time to take advantage of these new treatments.
Recovery
Since strokes usually involve damage to the brain, recovery can be a
long and difficult process, sometimes lasting months or years. Some people never recover
fully. Some may have to learn to walk while others may have to learn to speak again.
Prevent recurrences
The cause of a stroke can sometimes be treated to prevent
recurrences. If the stroke resulted from a blocked artery in the neck the blockage can be
surgically removed; the source of a blood clot can sometimes be eliminated or medicines
given which may make it less likely that blood clots will form again, or a neurosurgical
procedure to stop bleeding with the brain can be carried out.
Prevention
 The best form of treatment is prevention.
Smoking predisposes to strokes, as does high blood pressure, so smokers should stop and
high blood pressure should be treated. Seriously irregular heartbeats should also be
treated and diabetics should control their blood sugar carefully. Since strokes usually
occur in older people and often involve arteriosclerosis and since high-fat diets and a
sedentary lifestyle are known to contribute to arteriosclerosis, regular physical exercise
and eating a diet low in fat should begin early in life and should be part of everyone's
regular routine.
Because antioxidant vitamins like vitamins C and E and the
carotenoids may play a role in reducing the risk of stroke, it is a good idea to be sure
you are getting enough of these important micronutrients. Even though the results of
medical research are not conclusive, recent studies suggest that they may be of benefit,
and they are important in preventing other medical problems (see our section on vitamins for more information).
 Some foods can be beneficial in reducing your
risk of having a stroke. According to researchers at the University of Naples in Italy,
bananas help keep fatty substances in the blood from sticking to artery walls, reducing
the formation of the plaques which cause the arteries to stiffen and to narrow, a process
called arteriosclerosis. Other researchers at the same university found that eating foods
rich in potassium like bananas helps to keep blood pressures in normal ranges. Plantains
contain even more potassium than bananas--as much as 700mg per cup. Researchers at the
University of California at San Diego in the USA and at the University of Cambridge
Medical School in England agree that people who eat a diet high in potassium may reduce
their chance of having a stroke by as much as 40%.
Cranberries--often eaten with turkey in North America--contain
powerful antioxidants called flavinoids: Quercitin, myricetin and kaempferol. They have
been shown to prevent genetic damage which might lead to cancer, while quercitin in
particular seems to be helpful in preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, the
fatty deposits in blood vessel walls that are responsible for arteriosclerosis. In one
study in the Netherlands, men who ate diets high in flavinoids had a 73% lower risk of
suffering a stroke than those who did not.
Omega 3 fatty acids--the kinds found in fish and in flax seed
oil--reduce the formation of blood clots which can clog arteries and lead to strokes and
to heart attacks. Flax seed oil also lowers the amount of LDL--low density lipoproteins, a
kind of cholesterol.
 Garlic also seems to be very helpful in preventing the
formation of blood clots by keeping the platelets from sticking to each other. Platelets
are the tiny blood components which, along with other components, are responsible for the
formation of blood clots.
Folic acid, found in green leafy vegetables, also helps reduce
strokes, in one study by as much as 59%. Drinking green and black tea also seems to help.
Four small cups a day can significantly lower your risk of a stroke.
As you see, there are a great many things you can do to lower your
risk of having a stroke. Luckily most of them are simple things which not only reduce the
risk of a stroke but also the risk of a heart attack and probably also of cancer. Some of
the risk of serious disease may be inherited, but most of it lies in our own hands, or
more specifically, on our own plates. So eat--the right things--and be merry. You're
helping keep yourself healthy |
