A Stroke of Luck: All CVA in May

There is no doubt—May is upon us. There are increasingly more sunny days than cloudy ones, and there is suddenly a plethora of tissue boxes popping up in diverse places all over my house.  Yukon Cornelius, my cat with the paltry immune system, just sneezed seven times in my closet. And though I am comforted by my personal arsenal of allergy meds, I am left wondering if my stockpile of medications is now varnished with a sheet of feline boogers.

But I digress…

May excites me.  May encourages us to celebrate mothers everywhere. May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and, in my opinion, by default, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Day. Why not celebrate your moms with cookie dough? Pure brilliance if you ask me. What would even be MORE brilliant is if my boys read this blog…

National Hamburger Day (May 28th) could be celebrated just a little late when paired up with Memorial Day (May 31st) as you round out the month. I am grateful to those that sacrificed themselves for the wonderful freedoms we enjoy, and all joking aside, ESPECIALLY considering the pandemic, the freedom to gather as family and friends for a big juicy burger is one of them!

I have also been waiting for May all year because May is (drumroll please…) STROKE AWARENESS MONTH!! I am super excited! Now, I tend to be someone who takes things lightly and sees the humor in everything. I don’t want you to misunderstand. My elation from this topic comes from the fact that THIS is where I started my nursing career—on a stroke unit.  I have SO much to share on this topic, and I hope I will be able to take some complex medical processes and present them in a basic way where you can not only understand, but you will be able to apply them. The entire month of May is dedicated to this topic, so we will go slow! The best place to start is to discuss what a stroke is, the different types of strokes, and who is at risk.

What Is It?

A stroke is an event that occurs in the brain when brain cells die as a result of 1) inadequate blood flow (ischemia {is-kee-mee-uh}) or 2) bleeding (hemorrhage {hem-or-aj}). In a stroke, functions such as moving, thinking, talking, or emotions that are controlled by the affected area of the brain are lost or impaired. The severity of loss or function varies according to location or extent of brain damage. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body, and vice versa. So, a right-sided stroke will cause left sided deficits.

You might hear a stroke referred to as a CVA, or Cerebrovascular Attack. Cerebro=head, Vascular=vessels. Basically, what is happening in the brain is the same thing that happens in the heart when someone has a heart attack. Blood cannot get where it needs to, and cells begin to die because of it. About 87% of all strokes are ischemic strokes, or the first one I addressed. The bleeding strokes are less common.

Have you ever seen someone who has had a stroke? Maybe it was mild, and they have some numbness or some minor loss of function on one side of their body or the other. Maybe a couple months of physical therapy for recovery, and they were on their way? Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability, including paralysis on one side, inability to walk, complete or partial dependence for activities of daily living like dressing, showering, toileting, cooking, and eating, and challenges in communication. These cause huge physical, cognitive, and emotional lifelong changes for both victim and family.

Who Is at Risk?

90% of strokes are a result of what we call modifiable risk factors. That means that with a little effort, lifestyle changes can be made that will significantly reduce and even eliminate the risk of stroke. I will list them here, and throughout the month, I want to help you understand WHY those individuals with these conditions are at risk.

Hypertension

Heart Disease

Diabetes

Smoking

Obesity

Sleep apnea

Lack of physical exercise/poor diet

Drug/alcohol abuse

 

Sometimes, if you know the WHY, it becomes personal, and you are more willing to make changes. I love to educate my patients, and it is amazing to see the hypothetical lightbulbs pop over their heads when they finally understand their medical conditions and become empowered in managing them.

Age, gender, ethnicity/race, and family history are risk factors that are nonmodifiable, or ones that we cannot change. Stroke risk increases with age, as most strokes occur in individuals over age 65 (but can occur at any age.) Strokes are more common in men, but women tend to live longer and therefore have more opportunity to suffer a stroke. African Americans are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than any other ethnic group. And those with family history of stroke or stroke risk factors are also at higher risk. It is especially important with those that possess the nonmodifiable risk factors to manage the risk factors that they CAN control.

So, there you have it. You know what it is. You know what it does. And you know who is at risk. If it is a friend or loved one, start a conversation with them, and share the blog for the month of May! And if it’s you…stay tuned. I am gonna help you understand the “why” behind the risk factors so you feel empowered to…

Be well!

 

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