It is estimated that 1 in 4 Belgians over the age of 25 will suffer a stroke at some point. Disturbing? Probably. That is why the Cardiology League in our country finds it necessary and useful to carry out an awareness campaign during the annual Heart Week to learn to recognise the symptoms and to react quickly in the event of an emergency.
**What are the symptoms?**
– Lower face slumps to one side
– Skewering of the mouth
– Sudden weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg
– Speech impediments
– Blindness, blurred or double vision
– Difficulty walking
– Sudden severe headache, nausea or vomiting
– Difficulty swallowing or eating
It is very important to act quickly: if you think you recognise the symptoms, call 112 immediately.
**What is a stroke?**
Blood from the heart is rich in oxygen, necessary for the functioning and survival of brain cells. In a stroke, part of the brain is deprived of blood because a brain artery is blocked by a clot or sometimes even ruptured.
“Many people think that a stroke is a brain disease,” says Professor Paul Dendale, head of the cardiology department of the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt. But in fact it is a disorder of the blood vessels. “Once a blood vessel becomes blocked in the brain, we get brain tissue death. So, the sooner we get there to remove the clot, the less damage there is.”
In 80 percent of strokes, the artery is blocked by such a clot. This is called a brain infarct or thrombosis. In 20 per cent it is a brain haemorrhage. This is the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain. The blood then flows into the brain, causing direct damage, but there is also pressure from that blood on the brain tissue, and that pressure can endanger the blood circulation to other parts of the brain.
In the case of both cerebral infarction and cerebral haemorrhage, this damage can then lead to temporary or permanent paralysis, loss of speech or loss of sight.
**Every minute counts**
It is essential for a victim to pick up the signals immediately. “If our brains are damaged, it manifests itself by the fact that your face is tilted, one of the corners of your mouth is drooping, you can no longer talk, one or more limbs no longer function or you suddenly see a blotch. According to cardiologist Paul Dendale, it is vital to react immediately to such symptoms. “As soon as that happens, the damage starts, because our brain absolutely cannot cope with a lack of oxygen. So if you wait hours to do that, the damage is irreversible.”
“If we get to it quickly, we can fortunately solve a lot of things now,” says Dendale, who himself specialises in rehabilitation. “In the case of severe paralysis, you are immediately taken to the hospital where we dissolve that clot or remove it from the blood vessels via a catheter.”
“Often we also have to deal with the announcement of an impending stroke. You then get the same symptoms but of a transient nature. Just as it can happen with an impending heart attack, when you often experience chest pain weeks beforehand. Even with such temporary symptoms of a stroke, it is necessary that you are examined immediately. If we then start blood thinners immediately, we can prevent strokes.”
**Prevention still better than cure**
As with other cardiovascular diseases, our lifestyle is often the cause of strokes. “So the cause is usually a blockage of one of the blood vessels in the brain by arteriosclerosis and that in turn is a consequence of that unhealthy lifestyle. These are the same triggers of heart attacks: smoking, lack of exercise, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure. Either a clot forms in the heart itself or in one of the large blood vessels in the neck and that is then usually the result of cardiac arrhythmia.”
“The World Health Organisation stated a few years ago that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes by up to 80 per cent,” concludes Professor Dendale.
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It is estimated that 1 in 4 Belgians over the age of 25 will suffer a stroke at some point. Disturbing? Probably. That is why the Cardiology League in our country finds it necessary and useful to carry out an awareness campaign during the annual Heart Week to learn to recognise the symptoms and to react quickly in the event of an emergency.
**What are the symptoms?**
– Lower face slumps to one side
– Skewering of the mouth
– Sudden weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg
– Speech impediments
– Blindness, blurred or double vision
– Difficulty walking
– Sudden severe headache, nausea or vomiting
– Difficulty swallowing or eating
It is very important to act quickly: if you think you recognise the symptoms, call 112 immediately.
**What is a stroke?**
Blood from the heart is rich in oxygen, necessary for the functioning and survival of brain cells. In a stroke, part of the brain is deprived of blood because a brain artery is blocked by a clot or sometimes even ruptured.
“Many people think that a stroke is a brain disease,” says Professor Paul Dendale, head of the cardiology department of the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt. But in fact it is a disorder of the blood vessels. “Once a blood vessel becomes blocked in the brain, we get brain tissue death. So, the sooner we get there to remove the clot, the less damage there is.”
In 80 percent of strokes, the artery is blocked by such a clot. This is called a brain infarct or thrombosis. In 20 per cent it is a brain haemorrhage. This is the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain. The blood then flows into the brain, causing direct damage, but there is also pressure from that blood on the brain tissue, and that pressure can endanger the blood circulation to other parts of the brain.
In the case of both cerebral infarction and cerebral haemorrhage, this damage can then lead to temporary or permanent paralysis, loss of speech or loss of sight.
**Every minute counts**
It is essential for a victim to pick up the signals immediately. “If our brains are damaged, it manifests itself by the fact that your face is tilted, one of the corners of your mouth is drooping, you can no longer talk, one or more limbs no longer function or you suddenly see a blotch. According to cardiologist Paul Dendale, it is vital to react immediately to such symptoms. “As soon as that happens, the damage starts, because our brain absolutely cannot cope with a lack of oxygen. So if you wait hours to do that, the damage is irreversible.”
“If we get to it quickly, we can fortunately solve a lot of things now,” says Dendale, who himself specialises in rehabilitation. “In the case of severe paralysis, you are immediately taken to the hospital where we dissolve that clot or remove it from the blood vessels via a catheter.”
“Often we also have to deal with the announcement of an impending stroke. You then get the same symptoms but of a transient nature. Just as it can happen with an impending heart attack, when you often experience chest pain weeks beforehand. Even with such temporary symptoms of a stroke, it is necessary that you are examined immediately. If we then start blood thinners immediately, we can prevent strokes.”
**Prevention still better than cure**
As with other cardiovascular diseases, our lifestyle is often the cause of strokes. “So the cause is usually a blockage of one of the blood vessels in the brain by arteriosclerosis and that in turn is a consequence of that unhealthy lifestyle. These are the same triggers of heart attacks: smoking, lack of exercise, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure. Either a clot forms in the heart itself or in one of the large blood vessels in the neck and that is then usually the result of cardiac arrhythmia.”
“The World Health Organisation stated a few years ago that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes by up to 80 per cent,” concludes Professor Dendale.
Translated with DeepL.
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Not mentioned: [a simple check is called the “FAST”-test: Face, Arm, Speech, Time](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330904332/figure/tbl1/AS:723302033133570@1549460051187/Face-arm-speech-and-time-FAST-test.png)
Can we find statistics for amount of strokes by year in Belgium?
But on the upside: they can all still get a job as copywriter at HLN after their stroke it seems.
Remember FAST
Face – one side of face slumps
Arm – paralysis or heavy feeling/less power in one arm
Speech – slurred speech or unable to speak
Time – time is brain
High blood pressure and high cholesterol. Hard to avoid without medication.