All tissues in our body need oxygen and nutrients to maintain their normal functions. The transport of these vital substances takes place through blood. Oxygenated blood (clean blood) in the lungs is delivered to the extreme points of our body through our arteries thanks to the pump function of our heart.

Our brain accounts for about 2% of our body weight, but it is metabolically one of the most active organs in our body.

Approximately 15-17% of the blood pumped from the heart goes to the brain.
Stroke, or stroke as it is commonly known, is the inability of a part of the brain tissue to perform its normal functions due to bleeding or vascular occlusion.

Approximately 17 million people worldwide have a stroke each year, and about 6 million people die as a result.

Stroke is the second most common cause of death after heart disease.
Five million people around the world continue to live with the permanent sequelae of stroke.

What Causes A Stroke?

Deprived of adequate oxygen and nutrients, brain cells cannot perform their normal functions, and as this period continues, brain cells begin to die.

The brain is the main command center of our body. Our ability to move, speak, see, hear, and all our cognitive activities (perception of the environment, thinking, remembering, reading, writing, etc.) are controlled by different parts of this main command center.

A problem in the main command center causes the affected section to fail to perform its normal functions. This leads to a stroke picture in the patient.

20% of strokes are caused by bleeding (stroke due to cerebral hemorrhage).
80% of strokes occur due to a blood supply disorder in the brain due to a clot-induced obstruction (ischemic stroke).

The point to note here is that the right hemisphere of the brain coordinates the movements of the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere coordinates the movements of the right side of the body. For this reason, the damaged side in the brain and the side where the stroke occurs are opposite.
Vision problems are seen on the side of the brain where the damage is done.

What Are The Symptoms of Stroke?

Complaints are seen in the patient depending on which center of the brain the problem causing the stroke is.

These sudden-onset complaints are briefly:

Numbness and weakness in the arm or leg (arm/leg failure, loss of strength, loss of sensation),
Deformity of the face (drooping on one side of the face, mouth and eyes)
Speech disorders (non-turning of the tongue, lisping or not being able to speak at all),
Loss of one-sided or two-sided vision,
Swallowing disorder,
Balance and coordination disorder (dizziness and inability to maintain balance),
Memory loss
Disturbances in cognitive activities (thinking, reasoning, perception disorders),
Reading and writing disorder,
Severe headache (may be accompanied by vomiting, dizziness)
It can be listed as urinary incontinence.

Stroke is a condition that needs urgent intervention. Therefore, when you are faced with a patient who is suspected to be having a stroke, quickly CALL the "112 EMERGENCY CALL CENTER" for help.

What Is A Temporary Stroke and What Iıs A Permanent Stroke?

Transient Stroke (Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), minor stroke):
A short and temporary course of brain dysfunction is called transient stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke.
The patient's complaints are similar to a stroke, but are usually of very short duration. It can last less than 5 minutes and often disappears completely in less than 24 hours.
It occurs due to a temporary blood supply disorder (ischemia) in the brain tissue, there is no permanent tissue damage, infarction (tissue necrosis) in the brain.

Often the cause of this condition is a clot, which leads to a short-term interruption in blood flow to an area of the brain. After the clot has dissolved, the patient returns to normal.

Permanent stroke (permanent paralysis):
It is defined as neurological damage where complaints last longer than 24 hours or lead to death in the first 24 hours.
It is the emergence of a sudden, rapid and progressive stroke in the patient due to permanent tissue damage (infarction) that develops due to long-term interruption of blood flow in a part of the brain.

Should I Be Afraıd If The Temporary Stroke Is Short-lived and Disappears Completely?

Although the temporary stroke attack disappears in a short time and does not cause a permanent sequelae in the patient, it is actually a "warning stroke"
10-20% of patients with a first transient stroke experience a permanent stroke within the following 3 months. Permanent stroke occurs in nearly half of these patients within 1-2 days of the first transient stroke.

Patients at high risk of permanent stroke after temporary stroke:
Patients of advanced age,
Patients with diabetes,
Patients with transient stroke complaints lasting more than 10 minutes,
Patients who experience speech disturbance and significant loss of strength during transient stroke.
For this reason, you should consult a neurologist after a temporary stroke.