Seizures & Stroke
Stroke is an injury to part of the brain caused when an artery to the brain becomes blocked or bursts, cutting off the blood supply.
Without a supply of blood, the brain does not get the oxygen and nutrients it needs.
Permanent damage will result if the blood supply is cut off for more than a few hours.
Types of Stroke
Ischemic Stroke
An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot, forming in an artery which supplies blood to the brain, grows large enough to seriously impede the flow of blood in the artery.
Haemorrhagic Stroke
A haemorrhagic stroke occurs when blood vessels in or around the brain break or bleed. Haemorrhages can be caused by a number of disorders which affect blood vessels. For example, over a long period of time, high blood pressure can cause small blood vessels to bulge and eventually burst, spilling blood into the brain and damaging brain cells.
Transient Ischemic Attack
A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a "mini-stroke" caused by a temporarily blocked blood vessel.
Although a TIA does not cause any permanent brain damage, it is an important warning sign that a person may be about to have a more severe stroke. TIAs should never be ignored. With prompt and appropriate medical attention, a person who has had a TIA may be able to reduce the risk of a full blown stroke.
Warning Signs of a Stroke
Strokes do not always happen without warning. Hours, days, weeks, even months before a blood clot completely blocks a blood vessel, it can temporarily keep blood from getting to part of the brain, which causes a sudden transient ischemic attack.
Consult your physician if you experience any of the following warning signs.
- Vision Problems
- Sudden loss of vision, particularly in one eye
- Double vision
- Headaches
- Sudden, severe and unusual headaches
- Weakness
- Sudden weakness, numbness and/or tingling in the face, arm or leg
- Trouble Speaking
- Temporary loss of speech or trouble understanding speech
- Dizziness
- Unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially with the above signs
Stroke is one of the most common causes of epilepsy among seniors and adults in general.
- 8% - 13% of stroke survivors have a seizure in the hours to years following a stroke.
- Of these, more than 50% are early onset seizures
(within 1 week but most often within the first 24 hours of the stroke).
- Epilepsy develops in 3 - 4% of stroke patients.
- Early onset seizures after stroke are common and have little affect on the outcome.
(Up to 33% developed epilepsy.) - Late onset seizures are less common, but are associated with recurrent seizures.
(50% developed epilepsy.)
- Seizures are more common after a haemorrhagic stroke than an ischemic stroke.
- There is a strong link between stroke severity and risk of seizures after stroke:
the risk is very low in mild strokes.
