Stroke Definition Causes Symptoms and Treatment

Stroke is a disease that affects the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. Without blood to supply oxygen and nutrients and to remove waste products, brain cells quickly begin to die. Stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack. Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage or even death if not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States and industrialized European nations. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of disability. Stroke kills about 150, 000 Americans each year, or almost one out of three stroke victims. Strokes affect blacks more often than whites, and are more likely to be fatal among blacks. Men have more strokes than women. But, women have a risk of stroke during pregnancy and the weeks immediately after pregnancy. The cause of stroke is an interruption in the blood supply, with a resulting depletion of oxygen and glucose in the affected area. This immediately reduces or abolishes neuronal function, and also initiates an ischemic cascade which causes neurons to die or be seriously damaged, further impairing brain function. Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, hypertension (high blood pressure), previous stroke or TIA (transient ischaemic attack), diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, atrial fibrillation, migraine with aura, and thrombophilia. Practice blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke. Many other risk factors, such as cigarette smoking cessation and treatment of atrial fibrillation with anticoagulant drugs, are important. There are two main types of stroke. One (ischemic stroke) is caused by blockage of a blood vessel. Usually this type of stroke results from clogged arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis. Fatty deposits collect on the wall of the arteries, forming a sticky substance called plaque. Other (hemorrhagic stroke) is caused by bleeding. Bleeding strokes have a much higher fatality rate than strokes caused by clots. Some people have defects in the blood vessels of the brain that make this more likely. The flow of blood after the blood vessel ruptures damages brain cells. Hemorrhage (or bleeding) from an artery in the brain can be caused by a head injury or a burst aneurysm. Aneurysms are blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the artery wall. Theyre often caused or made worse by high blood pressure. Aneurysms arent always dangerous, but if one bursts in the brain, they cause a hemorrhagic stroke.Symptoms of a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble with walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination and sudden severe headache. There are several available treatments for Stroke. Oxygen may be given to be sure that your brain is getting the maximal amount. Taking birth control pills is generally safe for young, healthy women. Treatment of blood pressure that is too high or too low may be necessary in treating a stroke. Ischemic stroke is treated by removing obstruction and restoring blood flow to the brain. A patient is given antiplatelet medication (aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyridamole), or anticoagulant medication (warfarin), dependent on the cause, when this type of stroke has been found. TPA is most important new treatments over the last few years for the immediate treatment of a stroke is a medicine called tPA(Tissue Plasminogen Activator). use of Heparin and Aspirin drugs to thin the blood (anticoagulation; for example, heparin) are also sometimes used in treating stroke patients in the hopes of improving the patients recovery. Rehabilitation can also take place at a nursing facility. The rehabilitation process can include some or all of the following: (1) speech therapy to relearn talking and swallowing; (2) occupational therapy to regain dexterity in the arms and hands; (3) physical therapy to improve strength and walking; and (4) family education to orient them in caring for their loved one at home and the challenges they will face.

Diabetes chest pain Listen to the message in the body

When you experience diabetes chest pain it is a serious warning of health complication related to the high level of sugar in your bloodstream. The pains can signal the beginnings of heart failure, if you are living with high glucose the complications to your health can be extremely dangerous and must be taken seriously. Diabetes chest pain may be a sign of damage to the heart muscle, the reversal of this condition early is important to avoid further damage

How high blood sugar effects the heart

If you are a diabetic you increase your chance of a fatal heart attack by almost 300%, we rarely hear about the heart when it comes to high blood sugar but this organ suffers when the cells are daily punished by the high levels if glucose."A person with diabetes and no cardiovascular history has the same risk of having a heart attack as a person who has had a prior heart attack," said Dr. Ruchi Mathur, an endocrinologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

This is an amazing statistic, it shows that living with a high blood sugar can mean a fatal heart attack or stroke at any given moment, diabetes chest pain is a warning sign that the heart may be under extreme pressure. Living with high blood sugar means you are living as person who has already had a heart attack.

The complications from high blood sugar come from insulin resistance, if you are diabetic it means that you have cells that are not taking in glucose for energy, your cells are insulin resistance and the glucose floods your bloodstream, this is why you have high blood sugar. To save the heart you must remove this poison high level of sugar from your bloodstream. A diabetic does not need a simply diet, they need a insulin resistance diet that reverses the damage from the sugar. Diabetes chest pain can be healed with the reversal of insulin resistance

related  Type 2 Diabetes Diet

What Diet should a Diabetic follow

If you are asking what diet should a diabetic follow it is important to know the the facts. First, there are many diets to choose from but most will not work to reverse blood sugar. We will go more into this a little later in the post. High blood sugar is not an illness to play around with, it effects every cell of the body. What diet should a diabetic follow should never be a causal question; it is extremely serious. This is a question of saving your body or losing it.

What is happening in your body

A person with high blood sugar has a daily battle against poison in the bloodstream.

An elevated constant level of glucose wreaks havoc on the cells of the body. It is important to dump this excess glucose out of the blood. Living with this causes deep complications to the body. Living with high blood sugar is the cause of major complications like diabetic ulcers,diabetic stroke and more. When you are asking what diet should a diabetic follow this is a very serious question. A causal approach to diabetes must be abandon, action is required.

The failure of the Typical diabetes diet

With the usual American Diabetes Association diet recommendations diabetes has increased in the last 20 years. It is clear that the standard sugar free diet has been a complete failure. A Diet Coke and a salad is not going to stop a punishing illness like high glucose which invades every cell of the body. Diabetic blindness has doubled in the last 10 years and a diet Coke wont stop this. What diet should a diabetic follow? Only a healing diet that can reveres the cell damage and heal the pancreas. How many diets can do this? Almost none. The Spirit Happy Diet is the most popular natural diabetes diet since 2008 because it works. It heals the body and this is what the other diets will not do. You only get on body and one pancreas get the high glucose out of your blood stream.  Have a Great Day

*The Spirit Happy diet is the most popular natural diabetes diet in 17 countries*

Click here  Type 2 Diabetes Diet

BOK CHOY KOOTU DHAL BOK CHOY WITH LENTILS

(Image source: Wikipedia)

I have been cooking with bok choy (Chinese cabbage) for quite some time. I usually add them to noodles and soups. This time I tried making a simple dhal with bok choy. Bok choy has a very mild taste and blends well with the lentils and the spices added in the dhal. I do not add tamarind for my dhal preparations since we usually have this kind of dhal with rice and rasam. Tamarind juice can be added according to preferences.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Moong dhal, 1 cup.
2. Bok choy, 2-3.
3. Small onions, 1 cup.
4. Tomatoes, small, 2.
5. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
6. Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon.
7. Sambar powder, ½ teaspoon.
8. Garlic, 3 cloves.
9. Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.
10. Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
11. Asafetida, 1 pinch.
12. Salt as per taste.
13. Turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon.
14. Curry leaves, 1 sprig.
15. Chopped cilantro, ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
Wash the moong dhal and bok choy well. Extract thick juice from the tamarind and keep aside. Chop the bok choy and tomatoes into small pieces. Peel the onions and crush the garlic coarsely. Take a pressure cooker or a pressure pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds and asafetida let them fry for 30 seconds. Now add the small onions and curry leaves and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are transparent. I have left the onions whole here; they can also be diced and added. Now add the diced tomatoes along with the crushed garlic and bok choy and keep sautéing for a few minutes until the tomatoes are well mashed. Add 2 cups of water along with the moong dhal, turmeric powder, and all the powders, salt as per taste and pressure cook for about 10-15 minutes up to 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, garnish with chopped cilantro, mix everything well, and serve hot with idlis, dosas, rotis, or rice.

Homocysteine a new bad guy for heart disease

Homocysteine is a new "bad guy" in the world of heart disease. This evidence, and studies linking high homocysteine to both heart attack and clogging of the arteries (atheroschlerosis), finally prompted to add homocysteine to the more well known risk factors for heart disease (such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, obesity and lack of exercise). Increased level of homocysteine in the blood (hyperhomocysteinemia) is believed to cause narrowing and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) along with its close friend the Cholesterol. The blood vessel narrowing in turn leads to diminished blood flow through the affected arteries. High levels of homocysteine may also increase the tendency to excessive blood clotting. Blood clots inside the arteries can further diminish the flow of blood. Lack of blood supply to the heart muscles may cause heart attacks, and to the brain causes strokes. Even moderate levels of homocysteine level may show higher rates of repeated blood clot formation.

What is homocysteine?

Homocysteine is an amino acid produced by the body, usually as a byproduct of consuming meat. Amino acids are the building blocks of all the proteins in the body. Homocysteine levels are measured in the blood by taking a blood sample. Normal levels are in the range between 5 to 15 micromoles (measurement unit of small amount of a molecule) per liter. 

Elevated levels are classified as follows:

• 15-30 micromoles/liter - moderate
• 30-100 micromoles/ liter - intermediate 
• Greater than 100 micromoles/ liter - severe

Should all people have their homocysteine levels screened?

Based on the available evidence, screening is recommended only for specific populations, which includes people with:

• Family members who developed heart problems at a young age
• Family members whose tests have revealed high homocysteine.
• Known cardiovascular disease, a history of cardiovascular problems, or prior heart attacks
• A high risk of cardiovascular disease
• A diagnosis of homocystinuria
• Demonstrated folate deficiency or symptoms of this deficiency

If you dont fall into any of the above groups, screening is not recommended. Considering the conflicting research on people with low risk of cardiovascular disease, screening results may only open the door to unanswerable questions.

Q: What are the factors can affect your homocysteine levels?

• Deficiency of Vitamin B complex( mainly vit B6, B9-Folic acid and B12)
• Genetics/family history
• Lifestyle (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, and coffee use)
• Disease/health conditions
• Chronic kidney disease
• Medications/treatments
• Living inactive life

Normally, most of the homocysteine is recycled as other amino acids. However, the body needs sufficient amounts of dietary vitamin B12 and folate to do this. Therefore, insufficient amounts of these vitamins in the body can hamper the natural breakdown of homocysteine. Without enough B12 and folate in the diet, the recycling process becomes faulty, causing homocysteine levels in the blood to rise.

Homocysteine works with Cholesterol?

Now studies have shown that homocysteine damages the smooth vascular wall tissue, creating a scratch inside of the vessel where plaque( deposition of cholesterol inside the blood vessels) can build up. Plaque is the waxy and sticky material made up of LDL cholesterol, (along with platelets and white blood cells that arrive to fix the damage). Plaque deposits where the wall of an artery has been damaged blocking the passage of blood flow. Homocysteine can also turns LDLs,(the bad cholesterol) to be even more sticky and also attracts more white blood cells and promotes more blood clotting. Such clots along with plaque may totally or partially block the blood flow. Thus Homocysteine along with cholesterol adds more volume to the cardiovascular diseases. Homocysteine also plays a part in such diverse health concerns as osteoporosis, depression, Alzheimer’s disease.

   

How to reduce homocysteine levels?

Consumption of folic acid supplements or cereals that are fortified with folic acid, and to a lesser extent vitamins B6 and B12, can lower blood homocysteine levels. Usually, folate supplementation is recommended at 1 milligram daily; vitamin B6 is recommended at 10 milligram per day; and vitamin B12 at one-half milligram per day. Apart from that regular exercises, quitting smoking, alcohol and consumption of meat in moderation will also help to reduce homocysteine levels with the supplements.

Does lowering homocysteine levels prevent heart attacks and strokes?

In a large population study involving women, those who had the highest consumption of folic acid (usually in the form of multivitamins) had fewer heart attacks than those who consumed the least amount of folic acid. In this study, the association between dietary intake of folate and vitamin B6 and risk of heart disease was more noticeable than between dietary intake of vitamin B12 and heart disease, which was minimal.

You may also like:

Who are at the risk factors for heart disease?

How to clear clogged arteries?

How to lower your cholesterol levels fast?

How our body warns us days before a heart attack.

Eat a larger breakfast –lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol

Packaged foods have much more trans-fat than you think

Dieting but still fat What did they put in your food

The conclusion is that we are all dieting but still fat. The recent statistic from the World Health Organization has concluded what we all seem to known and that is the numbers of people over weight is growing not slowing down. Obesity is a crisis in the Western world as the American way of eating is now effecting Asia and Mexico. We are basically dieting but still fat and this is leading to a host of health problems.

Starting in the womb?

Researchers at prestigious Harvard University showed that obesity can start in the womb, if the mother is overweight it can set the child up for obesity as early as age 3. The researchers showed that overweight mothers were giving birth to babies who were “set up” for obesity later as a child. They stated

“We’re learning that factors that occur at early developmental stages, when so many things are changing, can have lifelong consequences,” said Dr. Matthew Gillman, the director

We are dieting but still fat but why?

We have shown on this site that the cause of weight gain and the inability to drop the pounds are directly related to food chemicals, do not believe the lie of “low calories” and “low carbs” to fight obesity, this may do a little but it does not address the root causes. The food today has changed, what we have in the supermarket today is a food filled with chemicals that did not exist 40 years ago. The mothers are transferring these food chemicals to the child in the womb. The FDA stance has been that we have no proof that the dangerous chemicals to harm over the long term. They do not doubt that food chemicals are dangerous but they do not believe it hurts you in the long run. This is the game being played with your life. Dr. Johannson showed that an insulin resistance diet reversed the damage from food chemicals and people with or without diabetes loss weight. If you are dieting and still fat, it is probably insulin resistance from food chemicals.

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Reverse Type 2 diabetes Today

Bone Health Exercises

Dr. Hawkins cautions that if you already accept osteoporosis or osteopenia, your best advantage is to assure your basic by convalescent backbone and balance, which will advice you abstain falls. He recommends cardiovascular-endurance exercise such as walking, low-impact aerobics, and dancing. These serve the added purpose of architecture beef strength, which will advice accumulate you cocked and chargeless from fracture-inducing falls.

If your basic are still healthy, alive out with weight-training machines, chargeless weights, or attrition bands, as able-bodied as accomplishing contest that use your physique weight as attrition (sit-ups and push-ups, for example), will all physique your cartilage density. The individual best way to access cartilage physique is jumping (think jumping rope, jump squats, plyometrics), according to Dr. Hawkins.

To physique cartilage accumulation in the three areas a lot of decumbent to accident from falls—the spine, hips, and forearms Dr. Hawkins suggests this leash of moves: Romanian asleep lifts, biceps curls, and triceps extensions.
Romanian Dead Lift

Stand with anxiety hip-width apart, knees hardly bent. Angle advanced from waist, befitting abs apprenticed and aback straight. Squeezing through glutes, acknowledgment to standing. Repeat. For an added challenge, do the aforementioned move with 1 dumbbell** in anniversary hand, accoutrements continued in foreground of thighs.
Biceps Curl

Stand with anxiety hip-width apart, accoutrements continued by sides, 1 dodo in anniversary hand, award adverse abroad from body. Angle elbows, bringing weights against shoulders. Boring lower to start. Repeat.
Triceps Extension

Stand with anxiety hip-width apart, accoutrements continued overhead, 1 dodo in anniversary hand. Befitting elbows abutting to ears, angle arms, blurred weights against accept blades. Straightening elbows, boring accession weights aback to start. Repeat.