There are two types of stroke. 90% of strokes are ischaemic strokes, caused by a blockage in an artery which affects blood flow to, or within, the brain. An ischaemic stroke can also be called a TIA, or Transient Ischaemic Attack, if it happens for less than 24 hours. The other 10% are haemorrhagic strokes, also called brain haemorrhages where there is a bleed in the brain. There are also events which might be called strokes or might be called cerebrovascular accidents, which have similar results to strokes. An example of this would be an aneurism in the brain. This is a swelling of an artery, which balloons outwards and can damage or destroy braincells as it does so.
The damage to the brain caused by a stroke is caused by oxygen starvation in the case of an ischaemic stroke. In the case of a brain haemorrhage, the pressure of the escaping blood damages or destroys brain cells.
People who have had an ischaemic stroke are often prescribed aspirin or warfarin to thin the blood, which helps to prevent the formation of more clots. However; there are many different types of drugs on the market today designed to thin the blood, and some may not be suitable for those with a higher risk of haemorrhaging [bleed] as some of these drugs may affect blood clotting abilities. Before taking and or altering the dose of such medications one should seek expert medical advice, ideally from a Haematologist. Those on blood thinning drugs should have their INR monitored regularly.
Brain cells that have died cannot start working again. However, areas of the brain affected by swelling caused by the stroke may recover as the swelling goes down. The brain is very adaptive and with time can often find new ways to transmit information (new neural pathways) to avoid the damaged areas. When stroke survivors practise exercises to help their recovery, they are encouraging the brain to develop these pathways, in exactly the same way (for example) as someone learning a musical instrument is encouraging the development of co-ordination of their body.
Every stroke is different! The survivor will be affected very differently depending on where in the brain is affected as well as what sort of stroke they have had and how severe and widespread the damage is. That's why we emphasise the role of the survivor as the expert in his or her own recovery, and is one of the reasons why people visiting this board can often help each other so much.
