Thursday, March 30, 2017

Stroke: People at Risk and its Consequences

"Stroke" is a the common term for an "acute cerebral infarction", which means injury with loss of neurons of the brain tissue. There are 2 main causes for stroke: the obstruction of one of the arteries that feeds blood to the brain and bleeding from blood vessels in the brain. Both situations are very serious and can lead to loss of brain cells, loss of physical or intellectual function and death.

The people who are at risk for stroke are diabetics, people with high blood pressure, smokers, obese and patients with high cholesterol. If someone already has had a stroke he or she has a higher risk to have another one. In addition, for an individual who has coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease, there is an increased risk of stroke. Atrial fibrillation (AF; an irregular heart beat) increases the chances of stroke, that is the reason why many persons with AF have to take an anticoagulant (blood thinner). Finally, there are genetic conditions that can increase the risk of stroke. Examples of this are sickle cell disease and increased coagulation disorders such as Factor V Leyden.

Stroke can be a devastating condition for the individual and it is definitely a major public health problem1 due to the immense cost it represents. It accounts for approximately 320 billion dollars every year in healthcare direct and indirect expenditures2. The patient has to deal with loss of function, which could be physical  (paralysis of arms, legs and/or face), and intellectual deficits like the loss memory and inability to speak. The recovery from stroke is usually slow and involves the use different levels of rehabilitation services.


References

1. Hankey GJ. StrokeHow Large a Public Health Problem, and How Can the Neurologist Help?. Arch Neurol. 1999;56(6):748-754. 

2. Mozaffarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2016 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;133:e38-e360.


Marco A. Ramos MD

1 comment:

  1. 전체 온라인 불법도박 상담건수도 2017년 7,755건에서 2021년 19,882건으로 2.5배 증가했는데, 전체 온라인 불법도박 증가에 따라 청소년 온라인 불법도박도 같이 증가한 것으로 풀이된다. 바카라와 포켓몬의 콜라보로 탄생한 이 제품은 지난해 ‘포켓몬’ 탄생 25주년을 맞이하였고 이를 기념하여 제작되었으며, 포켓몬 도감에서 가장 상징적인 ‘25’라는 숫자에 초점을 맞춰 제작됐다. 특히 대표적인 포켓몬, 피카츄가 포켓몬 도감 25번째 포켓몬이기도 해 컬렉션의 블랙잭 의미를 더한다.

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