Brain stroke or brain attack occurs when blood flow to brain is cut off

Kolkata: A brain stroke or brain attack occurs when blood flow to the brain is cut off or reduced, oxygen supply is depleted and brain cells in the immediate affected area begin to die.People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes or a high blood-sugar level are vulnerable to brain stroke. Eighty percent of brain strokes are preventable.

Stroke shares a set of risk factors and a pathological pathway similar to the one that cause a heart attack. Hence, stroke is often called as "brain attack".The most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body.

Other symptoms include: confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech; difficulty seeing with one or both eyes; difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; severe headache with no known cause; fainting or unconsciousness.The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is injured and how severely it is affected. A very severe stroke can cause sudden death.

Stroke affects everybody differently. Many stroke survivors continue to improve over a long time, sometimes over a number of years. With good care and rehabilitation, there is life after stroke.

A 'brain stroke' or a 'brain attack' is an event and condition that many of us know little about, but each one of us has the capacity to prevent and detect,  according to WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh

When the brain is deprived of blood and the oxygen it carries, or when bleeding inundates surrounding tissue and causes the brain to swell, its effective operation becomes compromised. Both incidents can cause lasting vision problems, seizures, fatigue, loss of speech, memory loss, and paralysis among other adverse effects. If severe enough, they can also cause death.

In low-and middle-income countries, which include those of the WHO South-East Asia Region, over 11 million strokes occur every year. This causes 4 million deaths annually, and leaves approximately 30 per cent of survivors seriously disabled. For the 70 per cent of survivors who recover, the likelihood of suffering further strokes is greatly increased.(UNI)