Nrs Oke Ololade
The past few weeks have been on critical heart disease conditions such as “cardiac arrest, and “Heart attack”. This week, we shall be examining another critical health condition that is rampant in the society. Although, in this part of the world, people refer to this conditions as “rich man sickness” but let me tell you that even the poor suffers it more and also with the mind-set that the sufferers will automatically pay the supreme price to death. Yes, it is true, that such conditions may lead to death if not well managed. Often times, when a patient’s relative is being notified about their loved one’s condition, they begin to cry and in many cases, they are completely devastated because it is expensive to manage and that leads to poor management and care.
I remember in particular, the case of a patient who died of stroke recently after being discharged. The physiotherapist was visibly visiting her twice every week for rehabilitation. As a matter fact, her condition improved tremendously and she was able to get back on her feet, walking, and was just left with her left hand still paralyzed. And all of a sudden, I received a call from the daughter around 12:45 am, on that fateful day breaking the news of her mom’s demise. That came as a rude shock to me because we were happy that she was getting back to normal, with money spent, the stress the family members went through, drugs, hospital bills and all. It was such an unfortunate situation.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Nigeria, and it is of a necessity for us to be enlightened on it. At this juncture, Nurse Opeyemi Ajulo, an expert and experienced nurse, who works at the Accident and Emergency department, in one of the general hospitals in Lagos state will be sharing with us, all we need to know and precautions to take in order to prevent the complications which may arise, or may lead to death in many cases, when handling a stroke patient. Excerpts :
What is Cerebrovascular Accident?
Cerebrovascular Accident also known as Stroke: This is an interruption of blood flow to the brain which leads to brain damage.
What are the causes of CVA?
Common causes of stroke come from blood vessels both outside and inside the brain. Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can occur when plaque (deposits of cholesterol, calcium, fat, and other substances) builds up and narrows the vessel making it easy for clots to form and further occlude the vessel. The clots can break free only to occlude smaller vessels inside the brain. The blood vessels inside the brain itself can accumulate this plaque. Occasionally, weakened vessels can burst and bleed into the brain.
What are the signs and symptoms it exhibits?
Warning sign: Headache and eye pain as a result of High Blood pressure. – Warning signs of an ischemic stroke may be evident as early as seven days before an attack and require urgent treatment to prevent serious damage to the brain, according to research.
Symptoms: Trouble walking, speaking and understanding, as well as paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg. It has different signs and symptoms in every part of the body.
Muscular: Difficulty walking, instability, paralysis with weak muscles, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, overactive reflexes, or paralysis of one side of the body.
Visual: Blurred vision, double vision, sudden visual loss, or temporary loss of vision in one eye.
Speech: Difficulty speaking, slurred speech, or speech loss.
Whole body: Fatigue, light-headedness, or vertigo.
Limbs: Numbness or weakness.
Sensory: Pins and needles or reduced sensation of touch.
Facial: Muscle weakness or numbness.
Also common: Difficulty swallowing, headache, inability to understand, mental confusion.
Are the symptoms same in both sex (male and female)?
Symptoms is the same in both male and female but at younger ages, men are more likely than women to have a stroke. But women tend to live longer, so their lifetime risk of having a stroke is higher. Women who take birth control pills or use hormone replacement therapy are at higher risk. Women are also at higher risk during pregnancy and in the weeks after giving birth. High blood pressure during pregnancy.
Who is at risk or can it be general?
It can happen to anyone but those at risk are people who have high blood pressure, family history diabetes, heart and blood vessel disease, High LDL cholesterol levels. Age can also put adult at risk though it can happen at any age.
What is the mortality in Nigeria?
It is quite high. It is the 3rd leading cause of death after Ischaemic Heart Disease in the world.
What is the life expectancy of a person with stroke?
According to a research by Caleb A. Gbiri, PhD, Aderonke O. Akinpelu PhD, findings suggest that the quality of life of Nigerian stroke survivors is very low at stroke onset; increases steadily during the first 6 months and little between 6 months and 12 months post-stroke; is influenced positively by marital status, spousal support, educational qualification and occupational status; and is negatively influenced by age and depression. Efforts to reduce emotional problems and improve social support may increase quality of life of stroke survivors.
Can recovery from stroke be complete?
Strokes that cause long-term damage are usually severe and/or not treated or treated after large sections of the brain have been damaged or killed. The type of damage depends on where in the brain the stroke occurred (for example, the motor cortex for movement problems or the brain area that controls speech). Although some problems will be permanent, many people that do rehabilitation can regain some or many of the abilities lost in the stroke.
Can stroke be prevented?
Prevention is always the best treatment, especially when the illness can be life-threatening or life-altering.
- Lower blood pressure
- Lose weight and Exercise more
- If you drink — do it in moderation
- Treat diabetes ( if you are diabetic)
- Quit smoking
- Eat vegetables and heart friendly foods.
- Do not engage in self medication.
