Neurorehabilitation » Ischemic stroke » Stroke: General Information, Articles » Unpredictable risk factors of a stroke
Unpredictable risk factors of a stroke
Age
Stroke can happen to anyone, but risk of its occurrence increases with age. This risk increases twice as much after the age of 55.
Gender
Women suffer with this disease more often than men. However, stroke occurs in men at a younger age if compared to women. Stroke leads to a lethal outcome in some cases as a result of its consequences. A woman’s life expectancy is longer, thus they suffer from stroke at an older age. Hence mortality from stroke is higher in women than in men. Twice as many women die from a stroke than from breast cancer.
A survey of women aged 45 years revealed a significant reduction in the risk of ischemic stroke caused by rupture of a blood clot. In some women this decrease was associated with a change in lifestyle, no smoking, moderate consumption of alcohol, normal weight, diet and exercise helped improving the body’s susceptibility towards a stroke.
Genetic predisposition
If one of the family members has suffered a stroke, the risk of suffering from this disease among other family members increases.
Post-stroke or transient ischemic attack
The risk of stroke recurrence is minimal on condition of qualified stroke rehabilitation. But, current statistics indicate 15%-30% of repeated cases, which causes many complications. Prevention is also important for those who have suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Transient ischemic attack is a kind of cerebral circulation disturbance. Violations caused by a typical TIA last up to 1 hour, but they do not lead to motor dysfunction. If the duration of the deviation is more than 24 hours, the attack is classified as stroke. TIA is its harbinger. About 40% of people who underwent TIA, suffered stroke later. However, many repeated attacks and TIA can be avoided by changing the lifestyle, using surgical and medicinal treatment or a combination of all three methods.
Fibrous-Muscular Dysplasia
FMD is a disease affecting the arteries, when degeneration of the elastic tissue occurs accompanied by an increase in fibrous or smooth muscle tissue with segmental narrowing of the vessels and ischemia of certain organs. This disease is congenital. It is most common in young women. The renal arteries are most often affected, and arterial hypertension arises.
Open foramen ovale (oval window - heart disease)
The occurrence of stroke and transient ischemic attack is the result of a disease such as an open oval window (OOW). The oval hole of the heart is closed by a "shutter" (valve). For the majority, this goes away as the one grows up, and the oval aperture is completely closed. However, in 30% of adults (on average) the "shutter" does not fully heal. Relatively rare oval hole remains completely open - this defect is manifested much more clearly, and is called atrial septal defect. It is reported that one in five Germans suffers from such a disease. Many people are not even aware of its existence. The disease has practically no visible symptoms. Strokes caused by OOW, are called cryptogenic, that is, they have no apparent cause.
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