A STROKE occurs when the blood flow to a part of your brain is reduced or interrupted, causing brain cells to die due to lack of oxygen and nutrients, or if there is bleeding in the brain which damages cells or tissue.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), stroke is the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Today, October 29 is World Stroke Day. It was established in 2004 at the World Stroke Congress in Vancouver, Canada, to build a sustained approach to public awareness of key issues in stroke recognition, its causes, prevention and treatment.
Causes
About 80% of strokes are ischaemic strokes, where a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot or a narrowed artery. A haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a brain aneurysm bursts or a weakened part of a blood vessel bursts and bleeds or leaks, causing swelling and pressure and damaging cells and tissue in the brain. A transient ischaemic attack (TIA), commonly called a mini-stroke, is caused by a temporary decrease in blood supply to part of the brain, which often lasts less than five minutes.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of a stroke include weakness or numbness on one side of your face or in one arm or leg, confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech, trouble seeing in one or both of your eyes and lack of balance or coordination. Other symptoms may include a severe headache with no other cause, fainting briefly, sudden falls with no clear cause, loss of strength and a sudden loss of balance, sometimes along with vomiting, nausea, fever, hiccups or difficulty swallowing.
Risk Factors
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for stroke. High blood pressure significantly contributes to all strokes. The higher your blood pressure, the greater the risk. Normal blood pressure is defined fined as 120/80 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). Blood pressure measurements even slightly above that increase the risk of a stroke.
Managing blood pressure is more difficult as you grow older. You may be able to better manage your blood pressure by maintaining a moderate weight, having regular exercise, following a heart-healthy eating plan and reducing your salt intake.
You may also need to take prescription medications to help lower the blood pressure and reduce stress on your blood vessels.Diabetes is another significant risk factor for stroke. Stroke accounts for quite a number of deaths in people with diabetes.
Prediabetes also puts you at a higher risk of having a stroke. Diabetes is also closely linked to other conditions that increase the risk of stroke, including high blood pressure, obesity and high blood cholesterol.
Managing diabetes with lifestyle changes, such as exercise and diet changes, can help reduce the risk of a stroke. You may also need medication to help keep your blood sugar within a healthy range. Smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol and lack of sleep can all increase your risk of a stroke.
Prevention
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of a stroke and of some of the health conditions that are risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension.
This involves, among other things, having a healthy diet, adequate exercise, sufficient sleep, not smoking and not drinking alcohol excessively.
The Cimas iGo wellness programme is available for Cimas members who would like advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle. The iGo team is available to give members an individual assessment of their health status and what they need to do to improve it.
Healthy foods include whole grain cereals, fruit, vegetables, lean protein, low fat and fat free dairy products. Beans, nuts and seeds, as well as healthy fats can all be part of a healthy balanced diet.You should not have too much sugar, salt or saturated fats. Carbohydrates and starch should be consumed in moderate portions. Maintaining good blood cholesterol can help reduce your chances of suffering a stroke.
Management of blood cholesterol is not only about lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) but boosting good cholesterol (HDL). People with high LDL cholesterol levels may have a greater risk of an ischemic stroke, but people with low HDL cholesterol levels may have a higher risk of a haemorrhagic stroke.
A healthy diet of good fats and proteins may help balance your cholesterol. This can include olive oil, avocados, fish and nuts. Some people may need statins or other medications to reduce cholesterol and lower the risk of plaque build-up in the arteries.
Plaque can narrow or block arteries or break off and form a clot. Weight management is important. Being overweight and obese increases your chances of having a stroke.
It also increases your risk of diabetes. Weight management techniques include regular exercise and taking in fewer calories. For some people, how-ever, this may not be enough. They may need to seek medical intervention.
Exercise has a positive impact on some of the leading risk factors for stroke. It can help you lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels, lose or maintain a moderate weight and support your heart health.
The iGo team organises Zumba sessions from time to time in different centres as a way of promoting exercise and fitness.
It has also arranged discounts at various gyms, fitness centres and spas that Cimas members can take advantage of.
It organises regular fitness sessions as well and encourages members to make use of exercise and walking areas at the iGo Hub at Borrowdale racecourse in Harare.
It also arranges an annual half marathon in Harare and Bulawayo, cycling events and other similar forms of exercise that anyone can participate in, sometimes linked to also raising money for a health-related charitable cause.
Even moderate intensity exercise most days of the week can make a difference. Walking, cycling, dancing, gardening, swimming and hiking are all good forms of exercise.Make an effort to have enough sleep every night.
Most people need at least seven- or eight-hours sleep. Poor sleep contributes to fatigue, poor memory and even anxiety and depression. Sleep issues linked to stroke include insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep apnoea and hypersomnia, a sleep disorder that makes you feel sleepy despite having had enough sleep.