Symptoms and treatment of microstroke. Health recovery
What is a microstroke?
Microstroke (minor stroke) is a syndrome that develops because of an acute cerebrovascular accident. The main difference of microstroke from stroke is that affected neurologic functions recover within 21 days.
Microstroke is a problem of modern society that suffers from high stress level, sedentary lifestyle, and unhealthy diet. The ability to identify the signs of microstroke timely protects against possible complications and repeated attacks.
Types of a minor stroke
- Minor hemorrhagic stroke is a stroke that causes spontaneous formation of small hematomas. Clinically, it resembles to the ischemic stroke, and affected motor functions recover within the period from two weeks to three months.
- Minor ischemic stroke is a cerebrovascular accident with complete regression of the neurological deficit within three weeks.
Microstrokes also embrace lacunar strokes, which are small areas of ischemia caused by the lesion of small arteries. Lacunar strokes more often happen in older age against the background of arterial hypertension with the development of sclerotic changes in arterial walls of small intracerebral vessels. Formation of microaneurysms causes minor hemorrages that is why lacunes have a complex pathology, which includes ischemia and hemorrhage.
People over 60 years of age are prone to atherosclerotic stenosis. In many cases, they do not stay in bed when they have a microstroke, and lacunes are detected by accident during an examination with MRI, however, a microstroke at early age is also possible.
Symptoms
- mild nausea;
- headache and dizziness;
- dystaxia – light stagger when walking, etc.;
- numbness of face and limbs, including reduction of sensitivity;
- audio-oral disorders, for example, seeing spots, sound distortion, etc.;
- muscle weakness;
- increase in arterial pressure;
- excessive sleepiness and fatigue;
- speech disorder – slowdown, indistinct mutter;
- sensitivity to bright light and loud sound intolerance;
- loss of consciousness for several seconds or 1–2 minutes in rare cases.
General clinical signs of microstroke
- arterial hypertension in the patient’s case record, increase in arterial pressure the evening before or headache;
- focal neurologic deficits intensify within several hours, sometimes days. Clinical picture develops in steps;
- motor functions successfully recover within several days, sometimes up to six months;
- developing of an attack takes place in case of a slight increase in arterial pressure with no headache, a patient remains conscious, but motor disturbances develop gradually to hemiparesis.
There is a risk of recurrent lacunar strokes within a recovery period.
- headache, muscle weakness;
- dizziness;
- blurred vision;
- numbness of one half of the body.
First aid
In case of motor disturbances in the form of weakness in one half of the body or one limb, numbness, call an ambulance. You should measure the arterial blood pressure, record the indicators to show a doctor: It is important to remember the time when the attack has started. Put a sick person in a comfortable position, lying on the side in case of vomiting. Do not reduce the arterial blood pressure during the attack, the patient will be provided with first aid at a hospital.
Treatment
Therapy in case of a microstroke is aimed at the achievement of normal BP values.
Fluid therapy, neuroprotection, symptomatic therapy are applied, antihypertensive medications, antiaggregants are prescribed. The measures are aimed at the improvement of rheological properties of blood.
Consequences
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The prognosis is favorable. If the patient is young, small hematomas recover in less than a month. In older age, the resorption period of a focal area reaches several months.
Mobility of paretic extremities improves within the first week on the background of non-surgical therapy, and motor autonomy recovers in two weeks.
Elderly people recover from the consequences of a microstroke for a longer time and need a more prolonged recovery. Motor and sensory deficits decrease in two weeks, and walking is possible to the end of the first recovery month.
Rehabilitation after a microstroke
Complications, such as spasticity, are rare, even in case of hemiplegia. Due to the gradual character of development of the pathology, patients are admitted to hospital, motion state is extended gradually, as if in case of large strokes.
From the second day breathing exercises and limb movements in lying or sitting positions are applied. Active and passive gymnastics and muscular simulation are also applied. The program of therapeutic exercises is extended with exercises in a standing position for practice of walking from the end of the week. Working on speech improvement begins after the stabilization of the patient's condition.
Prevention
1. To monitor BP and cholesterol indicators, you need the follow-up by general practitioner and cardiologist. Daily intake of hypotensive medications.
2. To monitor sugar level in blood, to take medications for its regulation, if necessary, to eat according to consulting physician’s recommendations.
3. To take antiaggregants, anticoagulants according to the doctor’s prescriptions in order to reduce the risk of a stroke. To discuss with your doctor any problems that occur within the period of the administration of medications.
4. Walk 10 thousand steps a day, live a healthy lifestyle. To give up on bad habits, to minimize alcohol consumption.
5. To maintain healthy weight. Overweight increases the risk of hypertonia and is an independent risk factor for microstrokes.
6. Exercises that increase the cardiac rate are recommended. You can calculate the pulse for aerobic activities using the following formula: (210-age) х 0.6.
7. Outdoor hiking at a speed of 5–6 km/h as one of the prevention techniques, if there are contraindications for jogging, such as chronic cardiac diseases.
8. You can use cycling machine, table tennis, simple exercises with a rubber cable.
9. You should balance your diet to increase the amount of lean fats, fruit and fiber and to reduce the amount of sugar.
10. To take additional omega-3 fatty acids in capsules, D3 vitamin, Е vitamin.
Author of the article - Viktoriia Korzhan
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