Stroke

Stroke is a neurological disorder due to the reduction or interruption of blood flow to a specific area of the brain. It is the second most common cause of death worldwide. Strokes, depending on their etiology, are divided into ischemic (most common) and hemorrhagic. Symptoms typically have a sudden onset and vary, depending on the area of the brain concerned by stroke, e.g. speech disorder, weakness of the upper and lower extremities of one side of the body, numbness of the upper and lower extremities of one side of the body, drop in angle of the mouth, sudden visual disturbances, unsteadiness, severe headache with sudden onset, etc. Timely treatment of a stroke as well as its prevention is of paramount importance. There are many risk factors for stroke, some are non-modifiable, such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc. and others are modifiable, such as arterial hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity, lack of physical activity, atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, etc.