Stroke Information
The second cause of death worldwide and a leading cause of disability in the U.S.
What is stroke?
This is why the American Stroke Association (ASA) is committed to:
Speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.
What are three types of therapy that could be used during stroke rehabilitation?
More information on the importance of these resources can be found on the American Stroke Association (ASA) and the National Aphasia Association (NAA) Websites.
Name two states in the stroke belt.
What is Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia?
The stroke belt is a region of the US that has been recognized by public health authorities for having an unusually high incidence of stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease.
Two Types of Strokes.
What are ischemic and hemorrhagic?
Ischemic Stroke - occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain.
Hemorrhagic Stroke - when a weakened blood vessel in the brain bursts.
The American Stroke Association (ASA) provides information on the types of strokes, causes, pathophysiology, and treatment for each type of stroke.
This organization has a link to multiple journals including the journal, "Stroke" containing hundreds of free articles on the topics of cardiovascular health and stroke.
What is American Stroke Association?
The percentage of strokes that are preventable.
What is 80%?
Controlling blood pressure is the number one way to prevent strokes.
You can find more information about blood pressure and how to better control it at the American Stroke Association website (www.stroke.org).
Other resources include: National Aphasia Association and Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other (SSEEO) organizations provide more information on stroke prevention.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and diabetes.
What are the leading causes of stroke?
Referring to the American Stroke Association (ASA) and the Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other Website (SSEEO) can provide a list of the leading factors causing a stroke.
An organization that you might be able to direct a patient family member to, so that they may learn how to bathe and dress their loved one at home.
What is Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA)?
FCA has an assortment of videos explaining how to preform various ADLs for their loved ones as well as important topics involving quality of life. Some of the topics include:
Bathing and Dressing
Transfer Skills
Dental care
Toileting and Incontinence
Advocacy Tips for caregivers
Aging and intimacy
Behavioral issues
B.E.F.A.S.T
What is an acronym to identify the signs of a stroke?
B.E.F.A.S.T.
The Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other (SSEEO) emphasizes the importance of this acronym. Stroke treatments work best when the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within 3 hours of the first symptom. The main goal of all the organizations is to teach the public the signs and symptoms of stroke in order to save lives.
Some lingering effects of stroke that a caregiver might need to learn to manage.
What is: emotional lability, communication difficulties, depression, anxiety, physical impairments (one-sided neglect), vision problems, etc.?
The family caregiver alliance has resources on how to manage lingering symptoms of a stroke at home.
True or false: In Virginia, there is a program that allows family members to be hired as personal caregivers in order to help keep the elderly and people with physical disabilities (including those caused by stroke) in the home?
What is True?
Virginia’s Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus Program (CCC+) is a Medicaid waiver that pays a family member (excluding spouses) to act as a caregiver. It also can cover services like, Respite care, Home/Vehicle Modifications, and skilled private duty nursing.
Care recipients must be 65+ or disabled, require a nursing home level of care, be Medicaid eligible, and be a resident of Virginia to qualify.
The Family Caregiver Alliance has a services-by-state search tool on their website to help locate similar programs in other areas of the country.
https://www.caregiver.org/connecting-caregivers/services-by-state/?state=national
American Stroke Month.
What is May?
During the month of May, the American Stroke Association pledges to match all donations to their fund to help promote healthy living and fund new research that will eliminate heart disease and stoke.
The effects of a stroke depend on these factors.
What is location of the obstruction and how much brain tissue is effected?
According to the ASA, The severity of a stroke can vary widely for example a a severe brain stem stroke can lead to "locked in syndrome," a condition where survivors can only move their eyes. This varies tremendously from the classic idea of a stroke, which only effects one side of the body.
Areas of the brain that can be affected:
Parietal - sensory
Temporal - comprehension and hearing
Occipital - vision
Cerebellar - balance and coordination
Basal Ganglia - emotion, cognitive function
ETC!
Provides education through a "stroke matters" podcast.
What is the Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other (SSEEO) Organization?
The Stroke Survivors Empowering Each OTHER (SSEEO) strives to create accessible resources and materials to help educate the public about strokes.
Acute ischemic stroke patients have a much greater chance of surviving and avoiding long-term brain damage if they arrive at the hospital during this time and receive treatment with a clot-busting drug called TPA.
What is "The Golden Hour?"
This is why it is vital for stroke organizations to continue to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of a stroke.