A stroke is a life threatening emergency. It is a sudden event that can happen without warning. A stoke occurs when the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen flow. This can occur one of two ways. The first, and most common type, is an ischemic stroke. It is casued by blockage. Small blood clots in the body float until they reach a vessel to small to pass through and become lodged there blocking blood flow. The second type is hemmoraghic. A hemmoraghic stroke is caused by blood flow that is interupted by breakage of a vessle or rupture of an anuresym. An anuresym is a weak spot within the wall of a vessel. Both types of strokes are 911 emergencies. Time is critical. Every minute counts. There is a narrow 3 hour window of oppurtunity when an ischemic stroke victim has a chance of being a canidate for clot retrieval, or clot busting drugs. Identification of the type of stroke that has occured must be done quickly.

A CAT scan is the most useful test in the first hours after a stroke. It can quickly identify the type of stroke. It is best use to differentiate between an ischemic stoke and a hemmoraghic stroke in the first hours after the event.

Ischemic stroke are the most common. They are caused because of blockage. A blockage stops blood flow to the brain and the area of brain that is deprived is damaged and symptoms occur. The symptoms that occur directly relate to the area of brain that is damaged and the amount of edema or swelling that occurs. The swelling causes pressure inside the head. The bones of the skull are rigid and do not give as pressure increases. There is alot of pressure on the brain if swelling is extensive. Symptoms can include: headache, blurred vision, slurred speech, loss of balance and/or coordination, odd speech or loss of ability to understand speech, facial droop, drooling, loss of function on one side of the body. The increase of pressure on the brain can also cause nausea and vomiting. How severe the symptoms are will be determined by how large the stroke is and where it is located. Some strokes are in locations that cause little disruption, others are in areas that can cause the person's respiratory center to shut down.

Please remember if you think someone you know may be having a stroke the area of damage is the BRAIN. The person may be insisting they are fine, they may "just want to rest", they may be violently opposed to going to the doctor. A person who is having a stroke is not able to decide

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