Stroke Prevention
and Dr. med. Nina Buschek Updated onKathrin Rothfischer studied microbiology and genetics in Regensburg after an excursion into German studies. Presenting complex issues in an easily understandable way was her passion even then. That is why she turned this passion into a profession after graduating: After various positions in the medical specialist publishing house and in the public press, she finally found her journalistic home at
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The trigger for a stroke (apoplexy, insult, cerebral infarction, stroke) is in most cases a sudden circulatory disturbance in the brain (ischemic infarction). Cerebral haemorrhage can also cause a stroke (almost 20 percent). As a result, the sensitive nerve cells receive too little oxygen and nutrients - they die. Of the patients who survive the stroke, about a third remain permanent damage. A third becomes nursing care.In another third, the impairments caused by the cerebral infarction recede completely.
The risk of stroke increases significantly with age. Men are affected slightly more often than women. Strokes are also possible in younger people and even children.
Prevention
Primary prevention
Primary prevention includes all measures that can eliminate risk factors and thereby prevent a stroke.
You can only protect yourself against a cerebral hemorrhage to a limited extent by making sure that your blood pressure is normal. Vascular malformations (aneurysms) can rupture as a result of high blood pressure. Since they are innate, there are no direct preventive measures against them.
The most common cause of a vascular occlusion stroke (cerebral infarction) is calcification of the blood vessels. Risk factors for so-called arteriosclerosis are:
- high blood pressure
- smoking
- Diet (too few fruits and vegetables, too much salt and animal fats)
- high cholesterol
- diabetes
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Sleep apnea syndrome
In 20 percent of the cases, cardiac arrhythmias are responsible for the cerebral infarction. As a result, a blood clot (thrombus) can form, which is transported into the brain via the bloodstream and can close a vessel there. The arrhythmia must be treated or the blood must be diluted with the help of certain medications so that no blood clots can form (anticoagulation).
Secondary prevention
Secondary prevention measures are designed to prevent a new stroke.
After a cerebral infarction, it makes sense to take medication that inhibits blood clotting and thus prevents blood clots from forming. Acetylsalicylic acid, dipyridamole and clopidogrel are common.
A new cerebral hemorrhage can only be prevented by consistently lowering the blood pressure. Existing malformations of the blood vessels in the brain can sometimes be operated on.
Tertiary prevention
Tertiary prevention or rehabilitation should restore the patient's performance and help avoid permanent loss of function. These measures should start as soon as possible after a stroke.
An early mobilization prevents further complications, for example pneumonia from inhaled chyme (aspiration pneumonia), deep vein thrombosis or pressure ulcers. Various training methods are designed to improve disorders of movement, language, speech, vision, memory and attention. If this is not possible or only partially possible, strategies are developed together with the patient in order to cope better with the restrictions.
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