Categories: Health

age and bad habits, after an increase in cases

Manuel, 62 years old. He had just arrived at the emergency department of the Val d’Hebron hospital. from Barcelona. When he woke up this morning he had a bad headache. Then I could barely move any part of my body. Little by little it began to fade away. They alerted the ambulance andbar code” The whole device was set in motion.

Having ended up in intensive care without undergoing the usual examination, Manel (fictitious name, but the case is real) was transferred to the department. “One step strike.” He was first examined in the radiology department. As a result, the clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Cells without blood cannot survive for long and die. This is why time is of the essence. It is necessary to restore blood circulation again. In just a few minutes, the very room where the diagnosis was made turned into an operating room.

A little more than half an hour passed from the moment the patient was admitted to the department and the blood clot was removed. Blood in the brain has been restored. Dr. Marta de Dios Lascuevas, interventional neuroradiologist at the Val d’Hebron Hospital, was responsible for the operation. Show the small blood clot in the test tube that is blocking the blood flow. “This very precise interventionthey work with veins that are only about 2 millimeters thick, a painstaking job that needs to be done with precision tools and in a very short time,” he elaborates.

In 85% of strokes, a clot blocks blood flow to the brain.

Manel’s brain stopped receiving blood for a while, but he managed to save his life. Some of their cells died, others were damaged and will be able to recover. It is not yet known what effect this will have on his body, but this episode will most likely This will mark your life as well as the lives of those around you.

Long road to recovery

In Spain, about 120,000 people suffer a stroke every year. In most cases this is due to obstruction of blood flow, but In 15% of them it is caused by hemorrhage, which also causes cell death and the ensuing consequences.

The severity of the stroke and the person’s health will determine recovery.. In the first months, progress is most noticeable. Subsequently, recovery occurs more slowly.

“I couldn’t speak or move“

Julia Ngui is 55 years old and suffered a stroke five years ago. “At first I couldn’t speak or move, I couldn’t go to the bathroom alone. “I felt very, very bad,” explains Julia, attending rehabilitation classes at Adacen, an acquired association for brain injuries in Navarre.

Rehabilitation is an important stage in a patient’s recovery. There is physiotherapeutic work, but also at a cognitive level. In many cases, rehabilitation consists of repairing damaged neurons or ensuring the brain finds ways to replace them..

“When I woke up I had a stroke which left me devastated. It completely changed my life“

“It’s very slow and long work, you have to be very patient,” explains Rafael Ardanaz, performing rehabilitation work with the exoskeleton available in Adacena. He suffered a stroke seven years ago, so he was 62 years old. “When I woke up I had a stroke which left me devastated. It completely changed my life.” Rafael worked as a truck driver and loved his profession. Now, what he misses most is driving. bad habits

age and genetics They are important factors in the occurrence of stroke. “Cholesterol clogs the veins and blocks one that supplies the brain.or the clot originates in another area and rises to the brain and the irrigation system is stopped,” explains Marta Rubiera, neurologist at the stroke unit of the Val d’Hebron hospital, warning about increase in stroke cases among the young population.

“Bad habits, such as a sedentary lifestyle, and toxic habits, such as alcohol and tobacco, are some of the factors that can trigger a stroke.” And 80% of the consequences that lead to a stroke can be avoided.

Adasena (Brain Injury Association of Navarra) uses the latest rehabilitation methods.

Usúa Porruy Bermejo is a social worker at Adacen, an association that, together with Mutua de Navarra, organizes preventive conversations among workers of companies linked to the mutual insurance company. In his lectures he explains the need to keep stress under control: “We are seeing an increase in stroke cases among the working population.partly due to stress levels.”

“He Stroke is the leading cause of disability and it is also the second cause of death among men and the first among women,” explains Usua Porruy. women because they take longer to go to the doctor when they appear first symptoms of stroke.

Other risk factors should be considered, such as cholesterol or high blood pressure. Doctors recommend monitoring these values.

In Porrui’s presentations, one aspect that stands out is the need to detect symptoms in order to act in time. She points out the most common ones; “Paralysis of a part of the body, difficulty speaking, twisting of the jaw, blurred vision, severe headache…” Here are some aspects that may indicate that a stroke has occurred and you need to act quickly.

Not all strokes occur suddenly. Some are subtle or difficult to detect. Doctors recommend being very attentive to the signs.

Angel Hua, neurologist at Del Mar Hospital, insists on the importance Go to the emergency room as soon as possible: “Often a person who experiences symptoms such as loss of vision, dizziness, difficulty speaking, thinks: “Well, it will pass, I’ll go to sleep.” Therefore, they turn to a doctor when the condition is already very serious and the consequences are sometimes irreversible.”

After a stroke

“The stroke changed my character. Now I get irritated more easily, people tell me I’m like a girl,” explains Julia Ngui. And the fact is that a stroke causes not only physical consequences, but also other, invisible ones. “I find it harder to concentrate, I think slower Moreover, people treat you as if you are three years old,” says Estibalis Zabalza, who has suffered 7 strokes. These episodes also affected his speech and reduced his mobility.

“I don’t accept what happened to me“

“Stroke causes damage to the brain, changes caused by the injury itself, but there are also psychological effects.”“Because of everything that patients and their environment go through, and because of everything that has to be relocated,” Leire Tirado, a neuropsychologist at Adacen, tells us. Accepting a new situation is one of the most difficult stages of overcoming. .

“I don’t accept this. “I don’t accept what happened to me.” admits Javier Perez, who after much effort has managed to regain his speech, but cannot get his right hand to respond. “I’ve tried everything, but there’s no way out.” He and his wife Pilar Seminario, who has always been by his side, decided to seek psychological support to overcome the situation. Because A stroke affects not only the person who suffered it, but it also conditions people in their immediate environment.

normal life

“The main thing is not to give up“

Despite the stroke suffered by Josep Maria Biela, which brought him to the brink of death, twice a week he takes his bike and goes for a walk. He is accompanied by a group of people from Amilla (Associació de Malalts i Familiars d’Ictus de Lleida). Conchita is one of those who goes on walks twice a week, organized by Josep Maria. She is gradually recovering from the stroke she suffered five years ago. Her husband, who was always by her side: “The main thing is not to give up. You have to get outside, interact and move.”.

Josep Maria Biela organizes cycling trips for people who have suffered a stroke

Biela is pleased to be able to spread his enthusiasm and energy to other victims. “You are crazy!!,” they told me, “for organizing these walks with these people.. Well, you see, I’m not that crazy.”

“The main thing is not to give up“

“I live a normal life,” says Manuel, who is paralyzed on the right side of his body due to a stroke that left him in a coma for eight days and confined to a Val d’Hebron residence for three months.

Manel drives a car adapted to control it, half of his body is paralyzed.

You’ve just released a car tailored to your situation.. One pedal for braking and acceleration, as well as a handle on the steering wheel with which you can control the car. “I’ll have to adapt to riding like this, but I’m very happy.” For Manel, it is the small achievements that make him forget everything he has suffered over the years and that make his life not so different after the stroke.

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