Stroke
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding brain cells. Brain cells die when they no longer receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood or there is sudden bleeding into or around the brain.
Symptoms of a Stroke
The symptoms of a stroke include:
- Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble with walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
There are two forms of stroke:
- Ischemic - blockage of a blood vessel supplying the brain
- Hemorrhagic - bleeding into or around the brain
Prognosis of Stroke
Although stroke is a disease of the brain, it can affect the entire body. A common disability that results from stroke is complete paralysis on one side of the body, called hemiplegia. A related disability that is not as debilitating as paralysis is one-sided weakness or hemiparesis. Stroke may cause problems with thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory. Stroke survivors often have problems understanding or forming speech. A stroke can lead to emotional problems. Stroke patients may have difficulty controlling their emotions or may express inappropriate emotions. Many stroke patients experience depression. Stroke survivors may also have numbness or strange sensations. The pain is often worse in the hands and feet and is made worse by movement and temperature changes, especially cold temperatures.
Recurrent stroke is frequent. About 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within 5 years.
Research Being Done
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducts stroke research and clinical trials at its laboratories and clinics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and through grants to major medical institutions across the country. Currently, NINDS researchers are studying the mechanisms of stroke risk factors and the process of brain damage that results from stroke. Basic research has also focused on the genetics of stroke and stroke risk factors. Scientists are working to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself to restore important functions. New advances in imaging and rehabilitation have shown that the brain can compensate for function lost as a result of stroke.
Organizations
American Stroke Association: A Division of American Heart Association
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231-4596
strokeassociation@heart.org
http://www.strokeassociation.org
Tel: 1-888-4STROKE (478-7653)
Fax: 214-706-5231
Brain Aneurysm Foundation
612 East Broadway
South Boston, MA 02127
office@bafound.org
http://www.bafound.org
Tel: 617-269-3870 888-BRAIN02 (272-4602)
Brain Attack Coalition
31 Center Drive
Room 8A07
Bethesda, MD 20892-2540
http://www.stroke-site.org
Tel: 301-496-5751
Fax: 301-402-2186
National Stroke Association
9707 East Easter Lane
Suite B
Centennial, CO 80112-3747
info@stroke.org
http://www.stroke.org
Tel: 303-649-9299 800-STROKES (787-6537)
Fax: 303-649-1328
Stroke Clubs International
805 12th Street
Galveston, TX 77550
strokeclubs@earthlink.net
Tel: 409-762-1022
National Aphasia Association
350 Seventh Ave.
Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
naa@aphasia.org
http://www.aphasia.org
Tel: 212-267-2814 800-922-4NAA (4622)
Fax: 212-267-2812
Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Assocn. (CHASA)
4101 West Green Oaks Blvd., Ste. 305
PMB 149
Arlington, TX 76016
info437@chasa.org
http://www.hemi-kids.org
Tel: 817-492-4325
Hazel K. Goddess Fund for Stroke Research in Women
785 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021-3552
info@thegoddessfund.org
http://www.thegoddessfund.org
Tel: 212-713-6789
Fax: 212-698-5629
Heart Rhythm Foundation
1400 K Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
support@heartrhythmfoundation.org
http://www.heartrhythmfoundation.org
Tel: 202-464-3404
Fax: 202-464-3405
American Health Assistance Foundation
22512 Gateway Center Drive
Clarksburg, MD 20871
info@ahaf.org
http://www.ahaf.org
Tel: 301-948-3244 800-437-AHAF (2423)
Fax: 301-258-9454
Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
References:
February 2008
www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm
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