Stroke - Overview
Around 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke in England every year – it’s the third biggest cause of death. Stroke is brain damage caused by a blocked blood vessel or bleeding in the brain.
The signs of a stroke may include weakness, numbness, blurred vision, confusion, and slurred speech. Getting to hospital and receiving treatment quickly is vital for a good outcome after a stroke.
Most patients have warning signs prior to a stroke
Diagnosis is confirmed by a brain CT scan and carotid artery duplex scan.
Prevention of further events is the key to management as we are not good at repairing damaged areas of brain already present.
Stroke Prevention
Things that you can do include:
- Stop smoking
- Control your weight
- Reduce excessive alcohol intake
- Take regular exercise
Things that your doctors can do:
- Control your blood pressure
- Identify and treat atrial fibrillation
- Treat raised cholesterol
- Treat diabetes
- Check for furring/ stenosis up of carotid arteries
It is estimated that upto 50% of strokes are preventable.
Unfortunately there are other risk factors that you can do nothing about. These include Age (65 and over), Gender (Men have more strokes, women have deadlier strokes), Race (particularly people of black African or Caribbean origin), Family history of stroke
Stroke - Carotid Endarterectomy
Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a surgical procedure that is performed to remove deposits of fat and calcium, called plaque, from the carotid arteries in the neck.
This procedure is indicated if you have symtoms and also narrowing of the carotid artery. It is undertaken under twilight anaesthetic so that you can be monitored all the way through the operation.
The operation involves a short stay in hospital of 3-5 days.
Twilight anaesthetic - a mixture of local anaesthetic and sedation.
We routinely audit results of all CEA procedures undertake and all data is submitted to a national yearly audit which is now in it's 5th year.
Stroke - Other Information
You may find the following of interest and they can be visited / printed at your convenience.
Giving Consent to an Operation (pdf)
F.A.S.T. Campaign - UK Department of Health
Circulation Foundation - an excellent UK site
National Stroke Association - an American site with lots of information