A variety of health-related ailments plague a large number of Kentuckians. That includes stroke and that can cover two primary types.
There are ischemic strokes when a blood clot blocks an artery leading to the brain and then there are hemorrhagic strokes, which are ruptured blood vessels in the brain. Dr. Larry Goldstein is the chair of neurology at the University of Kentucky. He said it’s not easy to pin down a cause for each stroke.
“So, it’s hard to say that ok this is the cause because the types and mechanisms are all quite different,” said Goldstein.
Dr. Goldstein said there have been several clinical trials to show using a catheter to pull a clot out of the brain can be successful in certain patients. Significant risk factors include smoking, more than two drinks of alcohol a day, and elevated cholesterol.
Goldstein said a long-standing risk factor is eating too much salt.
“If you add one teaspoon of table salt to your food that’s all the salt you’re allowed to have in the day or that you should target. As you know people have salt shakers all over the place and you have to read food labels,” said Goldstein.
While it’s difficult to determine the exact causes of stroke, there are warning signs. Those include losing balance, blurred vision, a droopy face, a limp arm, and slurred speech. With any of those developments, Dr. Goldstein said getting medical attention as soon as possible remains critical.
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