
What is a stroke?
A stroke is when the blood supply to a part of your brain is suddenly slowed down or stopped. When the brain doesn’t get its normal amount of blood flow it starves and dies.
There are two different ways the brain’s blood flow can be stopped:
Ischaemic stroke – A clot blocks the blood vessel stopping blood flow
Haemorrhagic stroke – The vessel bursts and blood seeps into surrounding areas.
Both of these are emergencies and need urgent medical attention.
Your risk of having a stroke is caused by things that can be controlled and some that cannot.
Things that can be controlled include:
- Blood pressure – puts pressure on the vessels in your brain
- Body weight – being overweight puts you at risk of high blood pressure and type II diabetes
- Smoking status – smoking makes your blood “sticky“ and more likely to clot
- Cholesterol levels – high cholesterol can narrow the vessels in your brain
- Some medical conditions – like atrial fibrillation and type II diabetes.
Things that cannot be controlled include:
- Age – increased age has increased risk of stroke
- Family history – you’re more likely to have a stroke if it runs in your family
- Gender – men are more likely to have a stroke than women.