How Avi Medical helps you with a stroke

In Germany, 270,000 people suffer a stroke every year. A clinical picture that is based on an ischaemic cause (circulatory disorder) in up to 85 percent of cases. 

In order to exclude long-term consequences, it is crucial to act as quickly as possible if the worst comes to the worst. However, prevention is just as important in the fight against this group of chronic cardiovascular diseases. Our doctors at Avi Medical are there to help you with this at all our locations.

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What is a stroke?

A stroke is an acute insufficiency of the brain, which is followed by an infarction. Depending on the affected area of the brain, this tissue destruction of the organ causes physical deficits, such as impaired vision and smell or paralysis. 

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A possible precursor of this clinical picture is the so-called transient ischaemic attack (TIA). In this case, there is also an undersupply of the brain, but without tissue destruction and the resulting symptoms. A TIA does not usually cause any consequential damage, but it does increase the risk of developing a stroke - especially in the first days and weeks after the attack. 

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At what point is it a stroke?

An ischaemic stroke is diagnosed by a local circulatory disturbance and thus a lack of blood supply to the brain. 

A second group of this clinical picture, the haemorrhagic (bloody) stroke, is in turn recognised by a neurological dysfunction . This is triggered by a haemorrhage (e.g. due to a fall) or the spontaneous rupture of an abnormal vasodilatation.

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What are the triggers of a stroke?

Possible triggers of an ischaemic stroke include:

• Embolisms (small blood clots), which are caused by cardiac arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation) or inflammation of the heart, for example, and travel with the bloodstream to the brain, where they block smaller vessels.
• Atherosclerosis 
• a splitting and thus narrowing of the artery walls (dissection)
• Hypertension 

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A haemorrhagic stroke can in turn have the following triggers : 

• Spontaneous bleeding without identifiable causes
• Bleeding due to increased blood pressure or injured vessels 
• Diseases of the vessel walls due to age-related deposits of certain proteins 
• Medication (such as too high a dosage of anticoagulants).
• Congenital vascular malformations 
• Tumour diseases 
• Craniocerebral trauma

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What are the possible symptoms of a stroke?

Depending on the affected area of the brain, you can recognize a stroke by the following typical and usually sudden symptoms :

• Unilateral movement disorders (paralysis of left foot and arm, with symptomless right half of the body)
• Speech and visual disorders (such as problems finding words or impaired fluency of speech).

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Additional possible symptoms are: 

• Sensory disturbances (unilateral or e.g. affecting only the upper or lower extremity)
• Impairment of fine motor skills (e.g. writing or grasping)
• Gait and balance disorders

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If the lower areas of the brain (cerebellum or brainstem) are affected, the symptoms are particularly severe. These include: 

• Disturbances of consciousness from delirium to coma
• Paralysis of all limbs
• Dysphagia
• Respiratory paralysis

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The treatment of stroke at Avi Medical

An acute stroke requires rapid diagnosis and immediate treatment with inpatient admission to the nearest hospital. Ideally, the hospital should have a ward specialised in strokes (the stroke unit). 

If the worst comes to the worst, our experienced doctors will treat you here as follows:

• Recanalisation of the affected constriction by lysis therapy with medication (dissolution of the thrombus) or mechanically by means of a small catheter and, if necessary, insertion of a stent.
• In the case of a haemorrhagic stroke: relieve pressure by draining the blood that has accumulated in the skull.

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Avi Medical also ensures the follow-up of the successfully treated stroke through the following measures:

• Drug prophylaxis
• Regular checks of blood values and blood pressure 

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And to prevent a stroke from happening in the first place - prevention is an important component for us at Avi Medical . This is made up as follows:   

• Consistent screening for risk factors
• Treatment of existing risk factors by adjusting blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and cholesterol levels to optimal values. 
• Regular physical activity
• Abstinence from nicotine and alcohol
• Early detection and (drug) treatment of cardiac arrhythmias

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