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February 8, 2012
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Stroke

Medical Author:
Dexter Morris, MD
Medical Editor:
Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Thomas Rebbecchi, MD, FAAEM

Stroke Overview

Stroke is a brain attack. It ismuch like a heart attack, only it occurs in the brain.Like a heart attack, stroke is a medical emergency. Do not wait or hesitate to call for emergency medical help. Fast treatment makes a big difference in outcome for someone having a stroke.

CALL 911 for STROKE

When the blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off or greatly decreased, a stroke occurs. If the blood supply is cut off for several hours or more, the brain cells, without enough blood supply,die.

Depending upon the amount of blood involved and location of the stroke area in the brain, a person having a stroke can show many signs and symptoms. These can range from barely noticeable difficulties moving or speaking to paralysis or death.

Until recently, doctors were unable to do much while a person was having a stroke or immediately afterward. Now however, treatments for the acute event, while it is happening, are available, which makes recognizing strokes and getting immediate care critically important.

  • About 750,000 new strokes occur in the United States each year. Stroke is the third most common cause of death (after heart disease and cancer). Strokes occur more frequently in older people but can occur in persons ofall ages, including children. African Americans are at a higher risk of stroke than whites. Hispanics have an intermediate risk.

  • A transient ischemic attack (known as a TIA or ministroke) is similar to a stroke except that, with a TIA, the symptoms go away completely within 24 hours. People who have a TIA are very likely to have a stroke in the near future.
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Stroke

Atrial Fibrillation »

Atrial Fibrillation Overview

Atrial fibrillation describes an irregular and often rapid heart rhythm. The irregular rhythm, or arrhythmia, results from abnormal electrical impulses in the heart. The irregularity can be continuous, or it can come and go.

Normal heart contractions begin as an electrical impulse in the right atrium. This impulse comes from an area of the atrium called the sinoatrial (SA) or sinus node, the "natural pacemaker."

  • As the impulse travels through the atrium, it produces a wave of muscle contractions. This causes the atria to contract.

  • The impulse reaches the atrioventricular (AV) node in the muscle wall between the 2 ventricles. There, it pauses, giving blood from the atria time to enter the ventricles.

  • The impulse then continues into the ventricles, causing ventricular contraction that pushes the blood out of the heart, completing a single heartb...


Read the Atrial Fibrillation article »


Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Stroke, Ischemic »

Stroke is characterized by the sudden loss of blood circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in a corresponding loss of neurologic function.

Read More on Medscape Reference »

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