Most people could probably guess that heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death, but many may not know that strokes are the fourth leading. Strokes are also one of the leading causes in long-term adult disability. A stroke occurs when there is a clot in a blood vessel or an artery located in the brain, interrupting or severely reducing blood flow to the brain, preventing it from getting the oxygen it needs. There are two different types of strokes, and there are multiple types of each stroke.Although there are many controllable risk factors, there are also many uncontrollable risk factors, but because there are warning signs, there is a chance of reducing long-term disability. There are two types of strokes: ischemic stroke
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These include: age, gender, race, previous stroke, fibromuscular dysplasia, hole in the heart, and family history. Strokes can occur at any age, but the risk is greatly increased after the age of 55, and increases with each decade a person is alive. Women are at greater risk of having a stroke than men, because women tend to live longer. “Approximately 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year.” Many women believe that breast cancer is more dangerous than a stroke, but strokes kill twice as many women a year. African Americans are at a higher risk of having a stroke. All the reasons are not clear, but it is known that African Americans are at higher risk of sickle cell disease. The sickle-shaped cells can cause a blockage in a blood vessel, resulting in a stroke. Five years after having a stroke, the risk for having a second increases by 40%. About 185,000 of the 795,000 strokes in America each year are recurrent strokes. Recurrent strokes have a higher mortality rate and a higher disability rate. Fibromuscular dysplasia is a disorder where the arteries in the body narrow. Because of the narrowing of the arteries, the blood doesn’t properly flow to the brain. About one in five American’s has a patent foramen ovale. The foramen ovale is a small hole in the heart that speeds up the travel of blood through the heart before birth. At birth the foramen ovale closes, but sometimes it does not close properly. The defect works like a flap and opens and closes when there is strain on the inside of the chest. There are often no symptoms of patent foramen ovale, but it greatly increases stroke risk. The risk of stroke increases if a family member has had a stroke. There are multiple genes that play a role in strokes; some are passed down, while others are mutations. They are Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, Apolipoprotein E, Endothelial nitric oxide synthase, Factor V Leiden,
These include: age, gender, race, previous stroke, fibromuscular dysplasia, hole in the heart, and family history. Strokes can occur at any age, but the risk is greatly increased after the age of 55, and increases with each decade a person is alive. Women are at greater risk of having a stroke than men, because women tend to live longer. “Approximately 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year.” Many women believe that breast cancer is more dangerous than a stroke, but strokes kill twice as many women a year. African Americans are at a higher risk of having a stroke. All the reasons are not clear, but it is known that African Americans are at higher risk of sickle cell disease. The sickle-shaped cells can cause a blockage in a blood vessel, resulting in a stroke. Five years after having a stroke, the risk for having a second increases by 40%. About 185,000 of the 795,000 strokes in America each year are recurrent strokes. Recurrent strokes have a higher mortality rate and a higher disability rate. Fibromuscular dysplasia is a disorder where the arteries in the body narrow. Because of the narrowing of the arteries, the blood doesn’t properly flow to the brain. About one in five American’s has a patent foramen ovale. The foramen ovale is a small hole in the heart that speeds up the travel of blood through the heart before birth. At birth the foramen ovale closes, but sometimes it does not close properly. The defect works like a flap and opens and closes when there is strain on the inside of the chest. There are often no symptoms of patent foramen ovale, but it greatly increases stroke risk. The risk of stroke increases if a family member has had a stroke. There are multiple genes that play a role in strokes; some are passed down, while others are mutations. They are Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, Apolipoprotein E, Endothelial nitric oxide synthase, Factor V Leiden,