What Means Your Health to You…?

A diet…

A smoothie…

A walk…

or a stroke…?

—I’m pretty sure you chose at least 1 out of the top 3, easier said than done, exactly whose health means a stroke to them? I hope no one… but sadly its No. 4 on the list of leading causes of death.

What’s even more scary is that it can happen to anyone, whenever. and wherever…..it’s not a “55 year old” thing anymore

How can you prevent this from happening… ?

We will get to that soon… for now let’s break down some key factors you should take serious concerning this stroke maddness….

What is a Stroke?

A disease that affects the arteries leading to and within the brain.
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot that bursts (or ruptures)…when and if this occur, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so our brain cells die.

Sounds painful, right….?

Yet, there are many things that can cause a stroke such stress, depression, high-blood pressure, certain foods and obesity.

Let’s take a step to some preventative actions here

Here are 3 different types of a stroke…

Ischemic Stroke
Hemorrhagic Stroke
TIA

An ischemic stroke is caused by either a clot obstructing the flow of blood to the brain or…

by a blood vessel rupturing and preventing blood flow to the brain which is a hemorrhagic stroke.

The, you have TIA, which stands for “Transient Ischemic Attack” its a mini stroke caused by a temporary clot…. a very common form of stroke.

Keeping an Eye on Health I came across some pretty rude awakening information on strokes…

I never paid attention to it much because I didn’t think it was an issue, until I witnessed a close loved one experience it… and it frightened me to see them this way…. and I startd to wonder about my own health.

What’s even more frightening is that….

About 795,000 Americans each year suffer a new or recurrent stroke. That means, on average, a stroke occurs every 40 seconds.
Strokes kills more than 137,000 people a year. That’s about 1 of every 18 deaths. It’s the No. 4 cause of death.
On average, every 4 minutes someone dies of stroke.
About 40 percent of stroke deaths occur in males, and 60 percent in females.
The 2006 stroke death rates per 100,000 population for specific groups were 41.7 for white males, 41.1 for white females, 67.7 for black males and 57.0 for black females.
Americans will pay about $73.7 billion in 2010 for stroke-related medical costs and disability.

Shocking isn’t it?!

Those are actually the wonders of the human body, which is so interesting and unique…there had to be ways to reduce and stay on top of this disease.

So how do you exactly know when you are having a stroke?

A Tour of the Brain. A user-friendly guide to the components of the human brain and how they function. - By Jon Caswell

Signs/Symptoms

“The human brain weighs an average of 3 lbs. in men and 2 lbs. 12 oz. in women and has about 100 billion cells called neurons. The brain’s structure is almost complete at birth, although it continues to grow until about age 20, with increases in the size of individual cells and the amount of tissue connecting the neurons.” -Jon Caswell “Tour of the Brain”

Brian Stem area includes the midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata.

These distinct parts develops through human evolution. They’re the oldest evolutionary parts, which are responsible for life-supporting functions such as breathing, blood circulation and sleeping, are found at the base of the brain, joined to the spinal cord.

The more recently developed areas — the cerebellum and the cerebrum — surround the brain stem.

When abnormal interference occurs in your body, the brain then alerts your attention to signs you should remain aware of, there are 5 listed below:

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing or blurred vision in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause

A more responsive way to know is the use of the acronym F.A.S.T that (www.GoRedforWomen.org) gives us to immediately notice the sign of a stroke and when to take rapid action …

“You should never wait more than five minutes to dial 9-1-1 if you experience even one of the signs above. Remember, you could be having a stroke even if you’re not experiencing all of the symptoms. And remember to check the time. The responding emergency medical technician or ER nurse at the hospital will need to know when the first symptom occurred.” (www.goredforwomen.org)