Stroke & Neurovascular Care

A stroke is when blood flow to the brain is disrupted. This occurs in one of two ways: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. 缺血性中风是由于血凝块或斑块阻塞了大脑中的一条重要血管而引起的血流中断. Hemorrhagic stroke is when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into surrounding tissues.

A cerebral stroke occurs when there is a vascular interruption to part of the brain, typically resulting in damage to brain tissue. Thus, a stroke is considered a medical emergency, in which expedient intervention has been shown to improve outcome. Depending on the type of stroke, and the region of the brain affected, 脑中风对功能的影响可以有很大的不同，从短暂的语言或运动的丧失, to paralysis or even death. Therefore, 在十大正规网赌软件出现可能中风的患者将由医生和辅助治疗团队成员进行治疗，以优化患者的结果.

Stroke ranks among the deadliest—and most complicated—of healthcare problems. Until recently physicians could treat only the devastating aftermath of stroke. But leading-edge stroke centers such as VMC's may limit, in some cases even prevent, the consequences of stroke.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, depriving it of oxygen. 持续时间超过几分钟的剥夺会造成脑损伤，导致永久性残疾或死亡.

“确定中风的精确位置及其损害程度至关重要, and to do so with great speed," says Dr. Peter Balousek, a neurosurgeon and neurointerventionalist from VMC's Stroke Center. The program's expert team includes ED physicians, neurologists, hospitalists, neurointerventionalists, IR team, pharmacists, rehab medicine providers, physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists.

神经介入医师在发生大血管中风时提供即时和一流的干预, but Dr. Balousek acknowledges they can't do a thing if symptoms are not recognized until it's too late. 了解中风的症状和体征，并立即拨打911，可以确保可以得到治疗，以扭转中风的影响.

VMC急诊服务医生卡尔·考夫曼(Karl Kaufmann)定期在急诊室为中风患者看病，并与Dr. Balousek. "In an emergency setting, it's crucial that people know who to call and when. Just like during a heart attack, every single minute counts." For this reason,  中风中心的主要目标之一是提供社区教育和宣传认识中风症状和体征的重要性.

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arms, or legs, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause
• Source: American Academy of Neurology

All of the above warning signs may not occur with each stroke. Take action immediately by calling 911 even if some of the signs go away.

Other less common symptoms include:
Sudden nausea, vomiting or fever not caused by a viral illness
Brief loss or change of consciousness such as fainting, confusion, seizures or coma
Transient ischemic attack (TIA) or “mini-stroke”

A TIA can cause many of the same symptoms as a stroke, but TIA symptoms are transient and last for a few minutes or up to 24 hours. 这可能是中风即将发生的迹象，但并非所有中风都是由tia进行的.

If you or someone you know experiences these symptoms, call 9-1-1 immediately!  

The best way to prevent your risk of stroke is to monitor your blood pressure, track your cholesterol level, stop smoking, 经常锻炼，并检查是否需要服用药物来减少血液凝固. 美国心脏协会还发现，每天吃水果和绿色或黄色蔬菜可以预防中风.

Check out our interactive guide for patients, families and caregivers.
After a stroke: A guide for stroke recovery and prevention (Español).

Reduce Your Risk
You can't control all of your risk factors for stroke. 但是，通过遵循以下谨慎的做法来保持心血管健康，对提高你的患病几率大有帮助.

• Control blood pressure
• Monitor blood cholesterol
• Stop smoking
• Treat heart disease
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Avoid excess sodium
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise regularly
• Treat diabetes
• Reduce stress

Spot a Stroke FAST: Face drooping; Arm weakness; Speech difficulty; Time to call 9-1-1

Watch this American Stroke Association video demonstrating the distinctive body language of stroke.

When seconds count, can you spot a stroke? Take this quiz and find out!

According to the American Academy of Neurology, 中风是美国成年人死亡的第三大原因，也是导致成人残疾的主要原因. 在全国范围内，每年大约有75万人患中风，大约16万人因此死亡. While there is no stereotypical stroke victim, physicians have identified some facts related to stroke:

• Stroke risk increases shortly with age but can occur at any age
• More than one-quarter of those who have a stroke are under 65 years old
• Men have slightly more strokes than women
• More women die from strokes than from breast cancer
• African-Americans have two times the stroke risk of Caucasians
• Those with a family history of stroke and heart disease have an increased stroke risk

Treatment for a stroke varies based on type, severity and location. 这取决于它是由血凝块(缺血性)还是脑出血(出血性)引起的。. 我们的中风诊所专家使用CT(计算机断层扫描)扫描您的头部，可能还有磁共振成像(MRI)来确定您所患中风的类型. Physicians may do further tests to discover the exact location of the clot or bleeding. Your blood pressures and breathing will be closely monitored and you might receive oxygen.

初始治疗的目的是恢复缺血性中风的血液流动或控制出血性中风的出血. The faster one receives treatment the less damage will occur.

Following emergency treatment of your stroke, after stabilization, treatment will then move to rehabilitation preventing another stroke. Controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), high cholesterol or diabetes play a major factor.

Your physician may want you to take aspirin or other antiplatelet medicines. You may have to take anticoagulants to prevent another stroke if you had an ischemic stroke. To control your blood pressure, you may also need to take statins to lower high cholesterol. 建议进行颈动脉内膜切除术，以清除颈动脉内积聚的斑块.

Valley cares deeply about our patients' recovery after stroke. Whatever your recovery goals are, Valley is here to assist in your recovery journey, helping you reach your highest potential and improve your quality of life. Learn more about caring for yourself after stroke.

If you are looking for more stroke-related resources, check out our stroke resources page.