« Older Entries

The Different Stroke Types

Stroke is a medical condition characterised by interruption of blood supply to the brain. This may happen of a blood vessel is blocked and stops blood from entering the brain or when there is a bleeding.

There are three types of stroke: ischemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage and subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Ischemic Stroke

The ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. Almost 80% of all stroke cases are of ischemic stroke. The ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked. Regular supply of fresh blood is vital to brains health. If a blood vessel is blocked, the brain cells cannot receive blood rich of oxygen and nutrients and they stop working. If the blood supply is stopped for more than a few minutes the brain cells start dying. The ischemic stroke may be caused by many reasons but the most common one is narrowing the arteries of the neck and the head. If the blood vessels become too narrow blood cells start to collect and form blood clogs. These clogs may block the blood vessel or dislodge and get closer to the brain and again clog the blood vessel. An ischemic stroke may be also caused by drug abuse, injury, or disorders of blood clotting.

Intracerebral Haemorrhage

The intracerebral haemorrhage stroke occurs when a blood vessel inside the brain bursts. In this case blood just leaks out causing high pressure to the cells that surround the leak. If the blood leaks out rapidly there might be a severe brain damage and even death. The intracerebral haemorrhage usually occurs in selected parts of the brain and that is why the damages may be to selected functions of the body. The intracerebral haemorrhage stroke is caused by high blood pressure and it may occur in people of all ages including children. Overall around 12% of all strokes are of this type.

Subarachnoid Haemorrhage

The subarachnoid haemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel just outside the brain bursts causing blood to leak out. The area of the skull surrounding the brain fills with blood and that is why people experiencing subarachnoid haemorrhage may feel sudden severe headache, neck pain, and nausea or vomiting. This kind of stoke is typical for people of all ages, especially for young adults and teenagers. It is more common for women than for men and is caused by a disease of the arteries. It may develop from birth or in childhood and grow very slowly.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags:

How to Prevent Swine Flu

Wash your hands
Basic way of preventing getting infected is washing your hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing. You can use soap and water, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective. Hand sanitizers can be used when water isn’t available.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth
Germs spread when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching something that’s contaminated.

Avoid close contact with sick people
If possible, avoid contact with possibly infected people. Avoid crowds. Swine flu spreads mainly when people cough or sneeze. » Read more: How to Prevent Swine Flu

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags:

Vitamins Nutrition and Their Importance in Health and Wellness

Vitamins nutrition is an essential part of health and wellness, and this is demonstrated by research. In this article, we outline the reasons why we should all have the recommended amounts of vitamins each day.

Nutrition is what we provide to our bodies (in the form of food), to support life within our body’s cells. A vitamin is part of this nutrition which is required by our bodies for everyday functions. Other essential nutrients such as essential fatty acids, dietary minerals, or essential amino acids, are not included in the term vitamin. Our bodies do not naturally produce vitamins, so we must obtain them from food or supplements. There are currently 13 different compounds recognized as vitamins, and these include A, D, E, K, C and 8 different B vitamins.

Vitamins are mostly found in Fruit and Vegetables
Research shows that 80% of Americans do not eat sufficient daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Five servings are recommended to provide sufficient amounts of important vitamins and minerals required for healthy nutrition. Five daily servings is a lot for some people, especially those who cannot take fresh fruit to their place of work, or perhaps they cannot buy fresh fruit close to where they live or work. There are a number of people who simply don’t like eating fruit and vegetables. In addition, much of the fruit and vegetables we buy today, doesn’t have the same nutrients as it used to have years ago.

Recent evidence shows that insufficient amounts of vitamins increases the risk factors to people, of contracting chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Evidence shows that the benefits associated with taking vitamins can reduce the risk of many diseases. Therefore, it’s important to eat fruit and vegetables or take vitamins in some other form.

Each vitamin plays it’s own role
Each vitamin plays it’s own role in keeping different parts of the body healthy. Vitamin A plays a huge role in healthy eyesight, it has antioxidant properties, and appears to function in maintaining normal skin health. Healthy body tissues and muscles are the role of vitamin C, and also increases the body’s immunity and has antioxidant properties. Vitamin D is good for strong bones and is also critical for overall health.

The body’s defense systems are supported by vitamin E, as well as it supporting a healthy heart. Researchers suggest that vitamin E may prove useful in the prevention of heart disease when taken for extended periods of time.

Thiamin (vitamin B1) helps support a healthy nervous system, and helps the body metabolize carbohydrates and fat to produce energy . Niacin (vitamin B3) is essential for more than 50 processes in the body. Vitamin B12 maintains healthy cells. A Folic acid supplement is now recommended to all women who might become pregnant and to those women who are pregnant, to protect against having a baby with a neural tube defect.

In 2002, there was a major scientific review covering nearly 40 years of research around the relationship between disease and vitamin deficiencies. (Fletcher RH, Fairfield KM. Vitamins for Chronic Disease Preventions in Adults. JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129) From the results of this review, two Harvard researchers recommended that all adults take a multivitamin every day, in addition to having proper nutrition. Researchers from this review, did conclude that some groups of people are more at risk of certain vitamin deficiencies than others, however, it is important for all adults to get adequate intakes of vitamins because of the tremendously important role they play in the body.

We have discussed the role vitamins play in keeping our bodies healthy and well, and shown some of the benefits to making sure you have optimum vitamins nutrition every day, so you can reduce the risk of disease and keep healthy.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags: