Cerbral Vascular Attack

Cerebral Vascular Attack (CVA), also known as a Stroke, is the third leading cause of death in America. Stroke by definition is when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel. When the blood flow is blocked for any amount of time the brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs. The area where the damage is causes a loss of skills that are controlled in that area of the brain. For example a person can lose the ability to speak, walk, and the use of an arm. The size of the blockage will determine the severity of the disability.

There are two types of strokes: Ischemic and Hemorrhagic.

Ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke: There are two types of ischemic strokes:

• Embolic – a blood clot or plaque forms somewhere in the body and moves through the bloodstream to the brain.

• Thrombotic- blood clot that forms inside an artery that supplies blood to the brain.

Hemorrhagic Stroke: bursting blood vessels in the brain that spill blood into the brain.

• Subarachonid hemorrhage: blood vessels burst near the surface of the brain and cause blood to leak outside of the brain, causing pressure on the brain and cell damage. Most common cause of this type of stroke is burst aneurysms.

• Intracerebral hemorrhage: caused when a blood vessel bursts and bleeds into the brain. Most common cause of this stroke is hypertension.

High blood pressure and aneurysms can cause the blood vessel in the brain to be weak and then cause the vessel to burst.

Aneurysms- weak spot in an artery wall. It may balloon out. As it gets bigger the wall gets weaker and can burst, then bleed into or outside of the brain.

There is an easy way to see if you or someone else is having a stroke. It is called the F.A.S.T. test.

F = Face Ask person to smile. Does one side droop?

A= Arms Ask person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S = Speech Ask person to repeat simple sentence. Does speech sound slurred or strange?

T = Time If you see these changes, call 911 or get to the nearest hospital.

Some symptoms include:

• Sudden