According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation 50,000 Canadians suffer strokes each year, and only 75% survive. Statistics from the World Health Organization claim that 15 million people suffer strokes per year. One-third of its victims are under 65 years of age, and 60% of stroke victims will be left with disabilities.

A stroke is when the brain is deprived of its continual supply of oxygen and glucose from the blood stream, then the brain cells start to die in the affected part of the brain.

There are two kinds of strokes. The most common kind is the Ischemic stroke, about 80% of all strokes are this kind. This is when a blood clot either blocks or plugs a blood vessel or artery in the brain.

The second kind is known as the hemorrhagic stroke and this is when a blood vessel in the brain breaks and bleeds into the brain. Twenty percent of strokes make up this kind.

Strokes are the leading cause of neurological disability although a stroke is a brain disease it can affect the whole body. The effects of a stroke can range from mild to severe, and include speech problems, vision problems, pain or emotional problems, and concentration.

Risk factors for narrowed blood vessels in the brain are the same for narrowed blood vessels in the heart. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking then it is imperative that you get these under control.

The best treatment for a stroke is prevention of this deadly disease. If you smoke - quit, do you suffer from high blood pressure and cholesterol? Get them under control, change your eating habits, actively take a role to prevent this silent killer from taking your life.

If you think someone is having a stroke here are some signs to look for: Call for medical help as soon as possible. Do not delay, a small window for treatment exist if medical help is applied within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Some stroke victims who receive treatment within the 3 hour window of the onset of symptoms are more likely to recover with little or no disability after three months.

Slurred speech, sudden confusion, trouble understanding speech.
Sudden numbness on one side of the body - face, arm, leg.
Trouble walking, off balance, dizzy
Sudden trouble seeing, in one or both eyes
Sudden severe headache

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