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By NBC News
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person suffers a stroke every 40 seconds in the United States. The risk increases with age, but strokes can occur at any age.
What is a cerebrovascular accident?
Also known as "stroke", a stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is blocked or sudden bleeding occurs in the brain.
What happens during a stroke?
It depends on the type:
- Ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot or plaque that blocks a blood vessel in the brain. About 87% of all strokes are of this type, according to the CDC.
- A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a blood vessel that bursts and bleeds into the brain.
Brain cells can be damaged or die within minutes, causing symptoms in the parts of the body they control. A stroke is a medical emergency. This can cause brain damage, long-term disability and death.
Recent guidelines have expanded the "golden window" when doctors can minimize or prevent permanent stroke-related damage through clot elimination and six to 24-hour treatments.
What is the main cause of stroke?
Hypertension, cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes are the leading causes of stroke, according to the CDC.
How can you tell if someone has a stroke?
According to the American Stroke Association, FAST is a good acronym to remember:
- Fas falling: ask the person to smile – is the smile irregular? Is one side of the face numb?
- AWeakness: Ask the person to lift both arms. Is an arm weak or numb?
- Speech: does the person speak with words, is she unable to speak or difficult to understand?
- TCall 911 if the person has any of these symptoms, call for help.
What are the warning signs of a stroke?
A "mini-stroke", also called transient ischemic attack, is often the precursor to a major stroke, occurring a few days before or the day of the main stroke. This occurs when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted and lasts a few minutes.
But strokes often occur without warning. Symptoms include:
- Sudden numbness, especially on one side of the body
- confusion or difficulty speaking
- difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
- sudden difficulty walking
- Sudden and severe headache
What are the first signs of a mini-stroke?
The symptoms of a mini stroke resemble the symptoms of a normal stroke, but do not last that long. They happen so suddenly.
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