Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability, according to the National Stroke Organization (“NSO”). Up to 80% of strokes are preventable; you can prevent a stroke! Here is the page for the  NSO’s “Stroke 101 Fact Sheet.”

Herndon and Leesburg brain injury lawyer Doug Landau heard the report on the radio that there is a stroke every 3 minutes in a piece about “brain attack.” Heart attacks and cancer dominate the news, but strokes are much more common than Landau thought. A stroke or “brain attack” occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow (and vital oxygen) to an area of the brain. When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs. When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost. These abilities include speech, movement and memory. How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged.

For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg. People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak. Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability. Tomorrow’s post will talk about the types and causes of strokes.