STROKE (APOPLEXY)
Doctors may refer to a stroke as a cerebrovascular accident. Strokes are due to a blockage or haemorrhage in a brain artery. They are caused, chiefly, by arteriosclerosis and hypertension. The best way to prevent strokes is to prevent these diseases.
Are strokes always fatal? No. And many severe strokes clear up completely without any residual paralysis or symptoms.
When the stroke occurs, there is damage to that area of the brain that is nourished by the artery causing the apoplexy. If a large area is damaged, death may occur shortly after the onset of the stroke. This is particularly true when there is a large haemorrhage. But even in some cases of haemorrhage, the clot can be removed by a brain surgeon.
In strokes caused by clots and emboli, the outlook is better. Emboli are detached portions of clots or bacterial fragments from a diseased heart valve or patch of arteriosclerosis. Persons who are totally paralysed by such a stroke often recover completely.
Some strokes leave residual paralysis of an arm or leg or both. Sometimes, the area in the brain that controls speech is affected. The paralysed muscles must be treated early and joints moved, so that when the brain recovers function, the joints and muscles will not be too stiff and weakened to respond.
Institutes of rehabilitation are available in large hospitals. However, most doctors and nurses have had training in this art and science and can help the patient.
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