On Strokes

One thing that people are concerned about after they have a stroke is the recovery. There are many things that happen when you are recovering from a stroke. You should begin recovering from a stroke as soon as possible after you have a stroke. People also want to know how long their recovery is going to take. This question is not a straightforward one. Your recovery time depends on the severity of the stroke. Some people recover from strokes for months or even year, while other people recover very quickly. Some stroke rehabilitation may include some or all of the following therapies:

• Therapy for communication disorders can help you regain lost abilities in speaking, listening, writing and comprehension.
• Strengthening motor skills involves using exercises to help improve your muscle strength and coordination.
• Mobility training may include learning to use walking aids, such as braces, walkers or canes, to support part of your body’s weight while you relearn how to walk.
• Range of motion therapy uses exercises and other treatments to help lessen muscle tension (spasticity) and regain range of motion.
• Psychological therapy may involve antidepressant medications, counseling with a mental health professional and participation in support groups.
• Constraint-induced therapy, also known as “forced-use” therapy, involves restricting use of an unaffected limb while you practice moving the affected limb. Forcing you to use the affected arm or leg can help improve its function.
• Electrical stimulation involves using electricity to stimulate weakened muscles, causing them to contract. This may help with muscle re-education in some individuals.

As I was saying before, there are certain precautions you can take that could prevent suffering from a stroke. While there are some precautions you can take, there are other risk factors that a healthy life style cannot change. You could be the healthiest person alive and still have a stroke because of these permanent risk factors. It is still important to stay healthy, but you should still comprehend that there are certain things that you cannot change.
Some of the risk factors that you cannot prevent are:

• Age. The risk of stroke increases with age.
• Race. African Americans, Native Americans, and Alaskan Natives have a higher risk than those of other races.
• Gender. Stroke is more common in men than women until age 75, when more women than men have strokes. Because women live longer than men, more women than men die of stroke.
• Family history. The risk for stroke is greater if a parent, brother, or sister has had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). For more information, see the topic Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA).
• History of stroke or TIA.

Of all of the heat-related problems that could occur, heatstroke is the most dangerous. Heat stroke is often the result of exercising or heavy work, which takes place in hot places where the person has an inadequate fluid intake.

To suffer from a heatstroke, you do not have to be older.  Young children, older adults, people who are obese and people born with an impaired ability to sweat are at high risk of heatstroke.  Some more important risk factors include dehydration, alcohol use, cardiovascular disease and certain medications.

Since heatstroke can occur at any time to anyone, there are symptoms you should be able to identify:

• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid and shallow breathing
• Elevated or lowered blood pressure
• Cessation of sweating
• Irritability, confusion or unconsciousness
• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• Headache
• Nausea
• Fainting, which may be the first sign in older adults

To read more about heatstroke visit: http://mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-heatstroke/FA00019

Do not think that strokes only affect humans.  Your pet could suffer from a stroke as well.  To get your prepared, I have compiled a list of stroke symptoms that could give you a hint that your canine is having a stroke.  Dog Stroke symptoms are different from human stroke symptoms and occur suddenly. Dog stroke symptoms vary based on the location of the stroke.

 Some Dog stroke symptoms include:

• * tilting the head to the side
• * walking in a circle
• * turning the wrong way when called
• * eating out of only one side of the food bowl
• * loss of balance
• * lethargy/acting tired
• * loss of bladder and bowel control
• * blindness
• * sudden behavioral changes

If you want to read more about pet strokes visit: http://www.dog-health-guide.org/caninestrokesymptoms.html