Stroke is still one of the most common causes of death. Although it is not always fatal, it can have serious consequences for those affected. The cause of such an infarction in the brain is often a sudden circulatory disorder, often as a result of arteriosclerosis that has developed over many years. In the following, you will learn the symptoms by which you can recognize a stroke and how it is diagnosed and treated. We also explain which risk factors promote the development of a stroke and how you can prevent such an attack.
Stroke: infarction out of the blue
Stroke is an enormously common disease in Western industrialized nations – worldwide it ranks second, and in Germany it is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and malignant tumor diseases. Strokes often lead to permanent disabilities or premature invalidity.
Every year, around 200,000 to 250,000 Germans suffer a stroke for the first time or again, and around one million Germans live with its consequences. More than 50 percent of those affected still suffer from restrictions in their daily lives one year after the stroke. Men and women are affected about equally often. The probability of a stroke increases with age. At the time of the first stroke, women are around 75 years old, while men are on average 70 years old.
Sudden functional disorders of the central nervous system are caused by a lack of blood flow in the brain. Symptoms depend on the brain regions affected – hemiplegia, gait, vision or speech disorders are common. Other common names for a stroke are “cerebral stroke” and – in technical terms – “apoplexia cerebri,” “apoplexy” or “cerebral insult.”
