Stroke: recognizable symptoms, risk factors… All you need to know – actu.fr

Each year they are responsible for 30,000 dead in France. They also represent the leading national cause of disability in adults, with more than 500,000 French people living today with consequences. “They” are the stroke, also known more simply by the acronym AVC.

What are the symptoms ? Who can be affected? What types of support are there? On the occasion of the World stroke day, this Friday, October 29, 2021, actu.fr takes stock of everything you need to know about this pathology.

What causes a stroke?

Concretely, summarizes the Ministry of Health, stroke is an interruption in blood flow to or through the hoop due to a blocked or ruptured vessel.

To begin with, there is not one but several types of stroke. The first, ischemic stroke, represents 85% of cases. Also called cerebral infarction, it occurs when an artery becomes blocked. If this obstruction is created by a plaque rich in cholesterol, it is called cerebral thrombosis. If it is a clot that is responsible, it is called cerebral embolism.

In some rarer cases, the blocked cerebral artery eventually resolves on its own, without causing any sequelae. We speak then transient ischemic attack (AIT). Without sequelae, but not without danger: as it lasts only a few seconds to a few minutes, AIT can be mistaken for a simple malaise.

Other type of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke. It corresponds to 15% of strokes. Most often, it happens when an artery ruptures.

What are the symptoms of stroke?

Now that you know what it’s all about, here is how to spot a stroke, whether it concerns an adult or a child (nearly 1,000 accidents per year in France).

It exists three main warning signs which should immediately make you react:

• A mouth deformity (example: the smile is not symmetrical, the face seems to “fall”)
• A weakness on one side of the body (example: the person cannot raise both arms)
• From speech disorders (example: when the person has difficulty making himself understood or speaking when asked to repeat a simple sentence).

It is also possible that other symptoms appear, such as severe headaches, severe nausea or even vomiting, balance disorders or a significant drop in vision.

A mnemonic to remember: FAST like Paralyzed face, Unable to move a limb, Speech disorder and Avoid the worst by calling 15 or 112.

Are there any risk factors?

Several factors can promote the onset of a stroke. They are mainly associated with a lifestyle and can therefore be modified to limit the risks. Health authorities noted these main factors, responsible for 90% of strokes.

First category, the way of life :

• Smoking (the risk of having a stroke is multiplied by three)
• Alcohol consumption
• Abdominal obesity (which contributes to 36% of the risk of having a stroke)
• A poor unbalanced diet (a third of the risks)
• Lack of physical activity.

Second scenario, health history :

• Atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder which is the number one risk factor for cardiac origin (risk of having a stroke multiplied by four)
• A history of high blood pressure (which contributes to 40% of the risk of having a stroke)
• Diabetes (in the case of TIA)
• Too high a concentration of lipids in the blood (such as cholesterol).

Finally, you are more likely to have a stroke according to psychosocial factors : stress, depression, social isolation, etc.

Who to alert?

Have you spotted the first symptoms and realized that the person in front of you is having a stroke? It is necessary immediately notify the emergency services, because with stroke, we talk action / reaction.

After the appearance of the first signals, doctors have a maximum of four hours to intervene. So the sooner the victim is taken care of, the more chance he has of escaping death and the less severe the aftereffects she will keep.

For that, dial 15 or 112 (the European emergency number). It is possible from a mobile phone as from a landline.

Give your telephone number, your name and that of the victim, the exact place where you are and be very specific when describing the signs that alerted you, the time of onset of symptoms, the state of consciousness of the victim.

And while waiting for help?

Once the help is contacted, your role is not finished, the stroke victim still needs you.

See to keep the person lying down with a pillow under your head and carefully remember the precise time when the symptoms first appeared. Do it eat or drink and do not give him any medicine – even if it is his usual treatment.

Finally, if the victim is a relative, try to group the last blood tests or the last prescriptions.

If you don’t know what to do, don’t panic: on the phone, the emergency services will be able to guide you and advise you while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

What potential consequences?

After a stroke, the victim may put between three to six months to fully recover through rehabilitation.

But depending on the severity of the accident, its location or the extent of the lesions, it may have sequelae:

• Motor disorders (paralysis or weakness on one side of the body, central facial paralysis, tremors, etc.)
• Poor urinary continence
• Sensory and comprehension disorders (speech disorders, vision problems, inability to recognize or use familiar objects, difficulty in learning and memorizing, etc.)
• Great fatigue and drowsiness during the day
• Mood disorders (depression, anxiety …)
• Epilepsy.

Each year, some 150,000 strokes are recorded in France, i.e. one stroke every four minutes.

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