Complications Of Stroke

Of all the illnesses people worry about, having a stroke is rarely one of them. However, strokes are one of the most common diseases, with around 1 in 6 people suffering a stroke in their lifetime. Strokes occur either when your arteries harden, causing blood flow to be cut off to parts of your brain, also causing your brain to be starved of oxygen, or when a blood vessel bursts and causes bleeding on your brain. It’s also known to have negative impacts in the overall health of the person who gets hit by it. Read more about the complications of stroke right in this article.

Although around 60% of people survive a stroke, with it brings a list of complications. Importantly, according to a Dutch Study, depending on which type of stroke you suffer, you have between a 38-60% chance of surviving another year, or between 24-31% chance of surviving another five years.

Unfortunately, rarely will someone who has suffered a stroke return to being themselves. Strokes affect one side of your brain, and therefore one side of your body will be most affected in the aftermath. If the stroke affects the right side of your brain, then the left side of your body will be affected, and vice versa. Whichever side of the body is affected, it is likely the patient will suffer from paralysis of the limbs, making it difficult to walk or use their arm, slurred speech, and cautious and slow movements.

Common Complications Of Stroke

Seizures – Convulsions caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, this is more common in someone who has had a larger stroke.

Memory Loss – Due to the brain suffering a lack of oxygen, it’s very likely that a stroke sufferer will experience memory loss after the fact.

Vision Problems – It is estimated about one-third of stroke sufferers have vision problems, with most of these people unable to fully recover their eyesight.

Deep Vein Thrombosis – Since the patient cannot move as before, their activity rate decreases, and with this, an increased chance of getting blood clots in their legs from the lack of mobility.

Personality Change/Depression – Probably one of the more overlooked complications, as it is mental rather than physical, but a stroke causes massive emotional changes. It is not uncommon for someone to suffer from depression after a stroke, owing to the mental changes in their brain.

The amount of physical and mental changes a person experiences depends on a number of reasons, mainly, their health before, and how quickly they are able to seek treatment, although being in good health and being treated quickly still are not guarantees on the outcome you experience. Strokes are unpredictable, and for a lot of cases unpreventable.