Stroke is a serious condition that is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. To put this into perspective, more than 795,000 people in the U.S. suffer from a stroke each year.
The condition affects the arteries leading to and within the brain and can prove to be fatal. It results from either blockage or low blood supply in the brain. As a result, this prevents blood and oxygen from entering the brain’s tissues.
In this blog post, we’re exploring everything you need to know about strokes, their symptoms, and prescription drug assistance for the condition.
Keep reading to find out more.
What Is a Stroke? What Causes a Stroke?
Before we can understand anything else about stroke, we need to understand what it is.
The brain is a vital organ that handles our breathing, digestion, emotions, language, movements, memories, thoughts, etc. The brain needs oxygen in order to function properly.
A stroke, also called a brain attack, is a condition that occurs when the flow of blood to the brain is blocked. It can also happen if there’s a blockage or a clot in the brain’s blood vessels. This condition is a possibly fatal medical emergency because blood supplies oxygen to the brain. As a result, brain cells and tissue suffer from damage and start dying within minutes.
A person can experience a stroke at any age, but the chances of getting a stroke are higher as you get older.
Different Types of Strokes
There are primarily three types of strokes. All of these types have different symptoms as well as causes.
Ischemic Stroke
Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke that accounts for about 87% of cases of all strokes. It occurs due to blood clots.
Clots can occur from atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels of the neck and the brain. Plaque is a mixture of fat and cholesterol in the inner lining of the arterial walls. This causes the blood vessels to become narrow. As a result, you may develop a risk of formulating clots in the blood vessels.
Clots can also occur from embolism. This is when clots move around in the blood vessels. Clots can also break off from a blood vessel located anywhere else in the body. This way, they travel into the brain and get stuck in the blood vessels.
Hemorrhagic Stroke
This type of stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel in the brain ruptures. It bleeds into the nearby brain tissues and puts pressure on the blood cells. As a result, it cuts off the brain’s blood supply and eventually cuts off the oxygen supply. This is an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke.
A subarachnoid hemorrhagic stroke is less common and results in bleeding between the brain tissues.
This rupture mostly occurs from an aneurysm, a weak spot in a blood vessel wall. It accounts for around 13% of all cases of strokes.
Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
TIA is a type of stroke that occurs when there is an inadequate supply of blood flow to a particular region of the brain. It’s called a ministroke as the usual flow of blood resumes after a brief period of time.
Symptoms Of a Stroke
A stroke is a serious medical emergency that requires immediate care. However, most people don’t realize they’re having a stroke. That’s why understanding the signs and symptoms of a stroke can help save lives.
The symptoms of a stroke may include:
- Paralysis
- Weakness or numbness in arms, face, or legs, especially on one side of the body
- Trouble speaking
- Difficulty understanding others’ speech
- Confusion and disorientation
- Difficulty in seeing from one or both eyes
- Lack of responsiveness
- Increased agitation
- Dizziness
- Issues in walking
- Losing balance
- Severe headache
- Nausea
- Seizures
Prescription Assistance for Strokes
Your doctor will most likely prescribe an IV injection of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) for ischemic stroke.
If you need prescription drug assistance for stroke medication, we recommend enrolling in Advocate My Meds’ full-service prescription assistance programs.
Advocate My Meds is a renowned full-service prescription assistance organization that strives to provide underinsured and uninsured Americans with prescription medicines. Their prescription assistance program database has over 1500 FDA-approved medications that low-income American families can access.
All you have to do is check if you qualify for their prescription assistance programs or contact them to know how they can help you.
About The Author
The author is a medical professional with years of experience and research in stroke and other similar conditions. They’ve written multiple research articles on the subject and have recently worked on how low-income families can access medical care for strokes. Currently, they’re working with Advocate My Meds.
