What Actually Happens During A Stroke?

Have you or a loved one recently had a stroke?

You’re certainly not alone.

The prevalence of stroke in the United States is more than 795,000 people every year.

Strokes are serious, life threatening conditions.

The signs of a stroke can appear suddenly.

Recognizing these signs is important as strokes require immediate treatment and rehabilitation in order to help restore lost functioning and reduce side effects.

Physical therapy after a stroke is an essential part of this rehabilitation process, which may include neuromuscular rehabilitation.

Today, we take a closer look at strokes and particularly, what’s actually happening when you experience one.

Let’s get started.

What Is A Stroke?

A stroke is a neurological condition involving a lack of oxygen to the brain.

This can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

A stroke may occur for one of two reasons.

Firstly, a stroke can be caused by a blood clot blocking an artery in your brain.

The blockage of a major blood vessel in the brain due to a buildup of fatty deposits, cholesterol or a blood clot is the most common type of stroke.

Secondly, a ruptured blood vessel in your brain may also result in a stroke.

We’ll get into more detail on each of those later.

In both instances, however, the result is a lack of oxygen to your brain.

When your brain doesn’t have enough oxygen, your brain cells begin to die.

This can cause either temporary or permanent brain damage, depending on how serious the stroke is.

The symptoms of a stroke may vary, and include:

• Paralysis on one side of your body
• Arm, face, or leg numbness
• Slurred speech, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding speech
• A sudden severe headache
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Blurred, blackened, or double vision
• Loss of balance and trouble walking

If you experience stroke-like symptoms briefly and there is no permanent damage, it may be a transient ischemic attack.

If the symptoms last for longer than 24 hours however, it is more likely to be a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or stroke.

RELATED: How To Recognize A Stroke (And Prevent A Stroke From Happening)

What Happens During An Ischemic Stroke?

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke accounting for 87% of all cases.

During an ischemic stroke, the flow of blood through an artery to your brain is blocked due to a blood clot.

A blood clot happens when your blood thickens, becoming semi solid inside your arteries.

The blood clot can either be an embolus or thrombus.

An embolus blood clot forms in the heart or large arteries of the neck, chest or another part of the circulatory system.

These blood clots break off and travel through blood vessels and get clogged when they reach one too small to pass through.

On the other hand, a thrombus blood clot will have formed inside of an artery that supplies blood to your brain.

These blood clots normally occur in arteries that are damaged by a buildup of plaques, also called atherosclerosis

Blood clots themselves might be caused by a number of different conditions, including:

• Atherosclerosis
• Elevated cholesterol levels
• Certain medications
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Heart disease
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Old age
• Pregnancy

These risk factors therefore increase your risk of having a stroke.

If treated quickly enough, medications can be useful in dissolving the blood clot and preventing severe, permanent brain damage.

For this reason, if you suspect you or a loved one is having a stroke, it’s important to get to an emergency hospital right away.

You should also note the time the symptoms started.

The signs of a stroke and time frame can usually be remembered with the FAST acronym:

• F-Face: Ask the person to smile and see if one side of the face droops
• A-Arms: Does one arm drift downward when a person raises both arms in the air?
• S-Speech: Is the person slurring their speech or sounding incoherent?
• T-Time: A stroke can be deadly. If you recognize these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately

What Happens During A Hemorrhagic Stroke?

As the name implies, a hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in your brain leaks, or hemorrhages, due to a weakness in the vessel wall.

The leaked blood flow surrounds your brain and creates pressure, which in turn damages brain cells and tissues.

This commonly occurs as a result of high blood pressure that may occur with a headache.

There are two types of hemorrhagic stroke.

Intracerebral strokes occur when an artery bursts and floods blood into the brain tissue.

Subarachnoid causes bleeding in the space between the brain and the tissue.

A subarachnoid hemorrhage is often the result of head trauma.

RELATED: Physical Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Hemorrhagic strokes are much rarer than ischemic strokes, accounting for only 13% of all cases.

However, they are much more deadly and are responsible for roughly 40% of all stroke deaths.

The more these strokes progress, the worse the outcomes can get, so immediate treatment is critical to prevent this condition from worsening.

What Are The Effects Of A Stroke

The effects of a stroke may vary depending on which area of your brain was deprived of oxygen, and for how long.

Some of the impacts of a stroke can include:

• Impaired speech
• Restricted physical abilities
• Weakness or paralysis of the limbs on one side of the body
• Slowed communication
• Difficulty holding things
• Loss of memory
• Fatigue and tiredness
• Pain
• Urinary incontinence
• Swallowing issues
• Vision issues

The size of the stroke can also determine the symptoms.

For instance, a small stroke may only cause minor effects, such as temporary limb weakness.

On the other hand, a serious stroke may cause permanent paralysis on one side of your body, as well as significant speech and memory problems.

Fortunately, the brain, just like muscles and bones, can heal itself.

Outcomes can vary though as some people recover quickly with very little side effects, while others have some form of permanent disability.

How Can Physical Therapy For Stroke Recovery Help?

Since a stroke causes an interruption in the connection between your brain and body, physical therapy is an essential part of the rehabilitation process after a stroke.

In fact, your physical therapist can provide you with support during all stages of your recovery.

You may have no or little control of your muscles during the early stages.

As soon as 24 hours after a stroke, your physical therapist can help stimulate your affected nerves and muscles to:

• Maintain circulation
• Reduce stiffness or contractures
• Prevent pressure sores or blood clots

Further into your recovery, your physical therapist will help you learn how to reestablish your brain body connection.

They can help you relearn how to move in bed, get up from a chair, walk with or without a cane or walker, and get back to the hobbies you enjoy.

A physical therapist can also help you get the equipment you need for home if any of these activities are too difficult to safely perform as you work towards independence.

The physical therapy will be dependent on your individual needs because a stroke can impact people differently.

Your physical therapy will work with you to come up with a treatment plan that you can stick with.

Book Your Appointment With Capitol Physical Therapy Today

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of physical therapy for stroke recovery?

At our physical therapy clinic, we pride ourselves on our professionalism and quality of treatment.

Book your appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy today.