ABOUT STROKES

The American Heart Association has determined that every 40 seconds, someone in the US has a stroke. Of those, 25% are a second-time or recurrent stroke. A stroke is an interruption of the brain’s blood supply. Strokes are classified as an ischemic stroke, the sudden blockage of arteries leading to the brain, a hemorrhagic stroke, a burst blood vessel that causes bleeding into brain tissue (“What is a Stroke?”).  

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Risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, increasing age, cardiac diseases, and obesity (“Stroke risk factors”). During stroke, an individual experiences blurred vision, loss of balance, and weakness or numbness on one side of the body (“Stroke Symptoms”). This weakness frequently causes permanent damage or paralysis on one side. Paretic muscles present minimal or no detectable electric potential activity (Ramos-Murguialday, et al.). Lack of signal transmission from motor cortex to spinal cord during stroke causes delayed initiation and termination of muscle contraction. CT scans and MRIs are used to diagnose stroke; ECGs may be used to determine if a heart problem was a causative factor.