Stroke is an acute disorder of the cerebral blood vessels. Common abnormalities include ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke, causing patients to experience sudden neurological symptoms such as weakness on one side of the body and slurred speech, depending on which part of the brain the affected blood vessel supplies.
What is ‘Stroke’?
Stroke is divided into 2 main types:
- Ischemic Stroke or Cerebral Infarction
Caused by thickening of the blood vessel walls or blockage by a blood clot, leading to a lack of blood supply to the brain area served by that vessel and resulting in the death of brain cells in that area. The symptoms arise because the affected brain area cannot function normally. - Hemorrhagic Stroke
Caused by rupture of the blood vessel wall due to various reasons such as trauma, high blood pressure, or aneurysm, leading to bleeding in the brain that compresses surrounding brain tissue and causes symptoms such as headache, vomiting, and weakness on one side of the body.
Warning Signs of Stroke That Require Immediate Hospital Visit
Stroke symptoms occur suddenly. Sometimes symptoms may be brief, but you should still go to the hospital immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- Sudden loss of balance or unsteady walking
- Loss of vision in one eye or one side of the visual field
- Facial drooping
- Weakness in one arm or leg
- Slurred speech, inability to speak, or difficulty understanding speech
If you experience any of these symptoms, even just one, take the patient to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Phyathai Sriracha Hospital
We have a team of doctors and multidisciplinary specialists ready to provide care from diagnosis, additional examinations, and treatment planning tailored to each patient, such as administering clot-dissolving medication or removing clots from cerebral blood vessels, as well as rehabilitation care. All of this is to maximize the patient’s chances of recovery.
Summary
Stroke is an emergency condition caused by blockage or rupture of cerebral blood vessels, resulting in sudden symptoms such as facial drooping, weakness on one side of the body, loss of vision in one visual field, slurred speech, or unsteady walking and loss of balance.
If you notice these abnormal symptoms, you should go to the hospital immediately to increase the chances of treatment success, reduce the risk of disability or paralysis, and help achieve the best recovery.
