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What is a Stroke?

Someone who has suffered a stroke often experiences a change in memory, speech or even paralysis on one side of the body. In fact, stroke is the number 3 cause of death in the United States. As dangerous as they can be, 80% of strokes are preventable.

In this video, Dr. Paul Knoepflmacher explains what your body is going through when you have a stroke and what symptoms you should be on the lookout for.

What is a stroke? A stroke occurs when normal blood flow to the brain is interrupted. There are two types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke is when not enough blood is getting to the brain because blood clots or plaques form inside the blood vessels. When blood flow to your brain is blocked, your brain cells begin to die within a matter of minutes.

A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a blood vessel ruptures and blood spills into the brain, killing brain cells. When brain cells die during a stroke, some of the basic functions controlled by the brain are affected. These include movement, speech/communication, memory, vision loss, and even personality may be affected too.

Signs of a stroke include a sudden numbness or weakness in one side of the body, severe headaches, dizziness and a loss of balance, coordination or sudden confusion.

Dr. Paul Knoepflmacher

This video features Dr. Paul Knoepflmacher. Dr. Paul Knoepflmacher is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine

Duration: 03:25 Reviewed by: Dr. Preeti Parikh, Dr. Holly Atkinson, Dr. Supriya Jain, Dr. Mera Goodman Review date: November 27, 2014
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