Mini stroke treatment
When you say the word, “Stroke” it is hard to believe there could ever be anything mini about it. After all, a stroke is a very scary thing and can be life ending. But mini strokes are actually different from full blown strokes and they do have their own, mini stroke treatment options.
The Difference between a Mini Stroke and a Full Stroke
A stroke is just like a heart attack, except it happens in the brain. Believe it or not, the National Stroke Association began a campaign in 1990 to rename strokes “Brain Attacks” simply because it better illustrated what a stroke was. In a heart attack, the blood supply to the heart is cut off by a blockage (usually of fat or cholesterol) in the arteries and cells in the heart begin to die causing sometimes permanent damage that reduces the hearts ability to pump effectively. In a stroke, the blood supply to brain is cut off usually by a blood clot but sometimes by fat or other blockage or broken artery, and the cells of the brain begin to die. As the cells die, patients suffering the stroke lose their ability to conduct whatever functions the dead brain cells were partially responsible for. This might mean that they lose their ability to talk or to walk, or maybe just to move the muscles on one entire side of their body.
A mini stroke, sometimes called a transient ischemic attack, is an event that starts out like a stroke but then suddenly fixes itself and no post-stroke signs are noted. So the artery blockage that starts as a stroke somehow resolves itself and allows blood through to the brain before a full stroke and brain cell damage occurs. This may seem like a done deal—that once the issue resolves itself there is no need to worry because the person who had the mini stroke is cured—but it is really a warning sign of a potential problem and does require mini stroke treatment.
Mini Stroke Treatment Options
While anyone, even those in perfect health, can have a mini stroke smokers, alcoholics and the obese are at a high risk for having a mini stroke. Therefore one of the most important mini stroke treatment plans is to stop smoking, cut back on alcohol and lose weight. Watching your diet and exercising can help improve your circulation which lowers your risk of an artery blocking blood clot and can reduce your cholesterol which also helps to keep your arteries free and clear, so they too are important parts of a mini stroke treatment plan.
Diabetes can harden arteries and make blood flow compromised, as can atrial fibrillation a disorder which causes the heart’s beat to become compromised. Because both of these disorders can leave you at risk for reduced blood flow to the brain, it is important that part of your mini stroke treatment plan involves managing these diseases with proper medication and medical care. In the same vein, high blood pressure and high cholesterol also must be managed with medication unless the diet and exercise mentioned above substantially improve these disorders.
If you are concerned about your risk for a stroke or mini stroke, be sure to have your cholesterol level checked by a doctor. In addition, ask them to take a look at your carotid arteries; these arteries are found in your neck and a blockage within them will cause a stroke or mini stroke. If your doctor thinks you may be at risk, he or she may start you on a blood thinning medication as part of a preventative mini stroke treatment plan.
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