Stroke Awareness Health Assessment

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Stroke Awareness Health Assessment The self-risk assessment I chose to complete was about strokes. A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is temporarily interrupted or disturbed. Being that the brain requires a constant flow of oxygen any interruptions could prove to be fatal. The two types of strokes are Ischemic or hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke is typically caused by excess buildup of plague on the blood vessel walls that narrows blood flow dramatically. A hemorrhagic stroke typically occurs when the blood vessel walls weaken over time, which leads to a bulge or rupture of the vessel. Aneurysm is the most common type of hemorrhagic strokes with a low survival rate. They also kill brain cells, which can never regenerate. The affect of strokes on the body can range between mild dizziness or slight numbness to impaired speech and loss of motor control. Major strokes can block blood flow to the brain to the point where the brain becomes impaired. Once the brain shuts down, it is no longer sending signals to the parts of the body that require brain operation to function. This can impair heart function, which can lead to death in the matter of a few minutes. According the American Heart Association’s posted statistics in Chapter 12 of this week’s reading, out of more than 6.5 million Americans suffer from strokes each year, roughly 150,000 die as a result from the damage. Al though strokes cannot be permanently prevented about 15 percent of all major strokes show signs prior to the event-taking place. Symptoms of random dizziness, numbness of the face, or even temporary paralysis are all danger signs of a possible stroke. These symptoms are precipitated directly from what is referred to as “Transient Ischemic Attacks” or “TiA”. There are many risks associated with

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