Strokes can damage the brain in seconds, but there can be recovery says doctor
FOX 2 (WJBK) - A stroke can happen in seconds and lead to a lifetime of disability.
Blood flow keeps your brain alive and functioning, when the flow is stopped because of a stroke, every second counts. The doctor is in to explain how a stroke happens and how to prevent it.
You might not think what you eat impacts your brain, but think about this - what you put into your body gets into your blood, which feeds the brain.
Your brain is like an amazing computer - powered by blood flow.
"The surface of the brain is where all the 'computers,' the neurons and brain cells are on the surface," said Dr. Tamer Abdelhak. "Inside are all the wires, like the cables."
Abdelhak is a Trinity Health neurologist who said when that blood flow is stopped, it is a crisis.
"One-point nine million brain cells die per minute with the stoppage of the blood flow- so every half hour is another month of disability and rehab," he said.
In the US about 800,000 people suffer a stroke every year. It is the leading cause of long term disability - which is devastating on many levels.
"There's a significant financial as well as psychological burden to the patient and the family," he said. "From the disability and the loss of the current life standard to how to survive and go through the new life after a stroke."
Blood flow can be blocked or disrupted because of a number of reasons. Some instances are cholesterol and blood pressure, which you can track,
"I always say we are plumbers of the brain," Dr. Abdelhak said. "Our job is to make sure these pipes are continuously flowing by making sure that the inside of the vessels is unblocked and doesn't have any roughness and to make sure that blood thinners are keeping the blood flow and making sure the cholesterol is well-controlled."
Abdelhak explained the impact of a stroke depends on where the damage is done to your brain. You can't undo the damage, but he wants you to know there can be recovery - and with the right treatment - life goes on.
"When you're healing, it is not the brain cells that grow," he said. "It is the existing survivor brain cells that develop new connections.
"It's like your coworker is missing and you are taking over the tasks and (the brain) is sending new wires, new cables to supply that function. That's how people heal and get better."
The most important thing is that you are calling 911 and getting to a stroke treatment center and you are getting assessed and either given medication to break up that blood clot or a procedure is done in which doctors make their way up to that clot and physically remove it.
Either way it just has to happen very quickly to save your precious brain tissue.
