Self-Care - Stroke
Stroke
What you need to know
A stroke is a brain attack. It happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. Damage to the brain can affect how the body works. It can also change how you think and feel. The effects of a stroke depend on where it takes place in the brain, and how big the damaged area is.
As we age, our arteries become harder and narrower and more likely to become blocked. However, certain medical conditions and lifestyle factors can speed up this process and increase your risk of having a stroke.
There are three different types of stroke: ischaemic strokes, haemorrhagic strokes and transient ischemic attacks.
- An ischaemic stroke is caused by a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain. This is the most common type of stroke
- A haemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in or around the brain
- A transient ischaemic attack or TIA is also known as a mini stroke. It is the same as a stroke, except that the symptoms only last for a short amount of time, as occurs when the blockage that stops the blood getting to your brain is temporary
Spotting the signs of stroke – FAST
Face: Can the person smile? Has their face fallen on one side?
Arms: Can the person raise both arms and keep them there?
Speech problems: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? Is their speech slurred?
Time: If you see any of these three signs, it’s time to call 999.
The FAST test helps to spot the three most common symptoms of stroke. But there are other signs that you should always take seriously. These include:
- Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, including legs, hands or feet
- Difficulty finding words or understanding what others are saying
- A sudden, severe headache
- Sudden blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes
- Sudden memory loss or confusion, and dizziness or a sudden fall
- A sudden, very severe headache
- Loss of consciousness
If you spot any of these signs of a stroke, don’t wait. Call 999 straight away.
Reducing the risk of stroke
You can help to reduce your risk of a stroke by making some healthy lifestyle choices. Whether it’s your diet, activity levels, smoking or drinking, it’s never too late to make a change.
Smoking – Smoking doubles your risk of dying from a stroke. But the minute you quit, your risk of a stroke starts to drop.
Alcohol – Regularly drinking too much alcohol raises your risk of a stroke. You should drink no more than 14 units a week and spread the units over the week. The limit is the same for men and women.
Maintaining a healthy weight – Being overweight makes you more likely to have a stroke. Extra weight affects your body in many ways, such as raising the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, which are both linked to stroke.
Eating well – Eating healthily helps to lower risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Even small changes to your diet can make a difference.
Being physically active – Exercise helps to reduce your risk of a stroke. Moving around will also help your emotional wellbeing by releasing chemicals into your brain that make you feel better.
Preventing further strokes
Some health problems raise your risk of a stroke. These include:
- High blood pressure
- Atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat)
- Diabetes and pre-diabetes
- High cholesterol
Strokes can run in families, so speak to your GP or nurse if you have a family history of stroke. You may need some tests and health checks, and advice on reducing your risk.
If you have had a stroke, your chances of having another one is significantly increased. You’ll usually require long-term treatment with medicines that improve the risk factors for your stroke. For example:
- Medicine to help lower your high blood pressure
- Anticoagulants or antiplatelets – to reduce your risk of blood clots
- Statins – to lower your cholesterol levels
You’ll also be encouraged to make lifestyle changes to improve your general health and lower your stroke risk.
Coping with Cravings
If you can control your cravings for a cigarette, you’ll significantly boost your chances of quitting. The most effective way to tackle cravings is a combination of stop smoking medicines and behavioural changes. Going cold turkey may be appealing and works for some, but research suggests that willpower alone isn’t the best method to stop smoking.
Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and other stop smoking medicines can double your chances of quitting successfully compared with willpower alone.
Cravings happen because your body misses its regular hits of nicotine. There are 2 types of craving.
- The steady and constant background craving for a cigarette that decreases in intensity over several weeks after quitting.
- Sudden bursts of an intense desire or urge to smoke are often triggered by a cue, such as having a few drinks, feeling very happy or sad, having an argument, feeling stressed, or even having a cup of coffee.
These urges to smoke become less frequent over time but their intensity can remain strong even after many months of quitting. There are 3 tried and tested ways to tame cravings:
1. Nicotine replacement therapy
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gives your body the nicotine it craves without the toxic chemicals that you get in cigarettes, so it doesn’t cause cancer. It helps you to stop smoking with fewer unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. NRT won’t give you the same “hit” or relief you would expect from a cigarette, but it does help reduce cravings.
NRT is available as gum, patches, lozenges, microtabs, inhalator, nasal spray, mouth spray and oral strips. Some products, like the patch, release nicotine into your system slowly and steadily, so they’re ideal for relieving background cravings. Others, such as the nasal spray and mouth spray, release nicotine quickly in short bursts, so they’re better suited to sudden intense cravings.
A good strategy is to use the nicotine patch to manage the steady and constant background cravings and carry a fast-working product with you to deal with the sudden intense cravings.
Discuss the NRT products available over the counter with your pharmacist or talk to your local NHS stop smoking adviser or GP.
2. Stop smoking medicines
The prescription tablets Champix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion) are an alternative to NRT in helping you stop smoking. They don’t contain nicotine, but work on your brain to dampen cravings and can be very effective. As they take a few days to work fully, you need to start these medicines for a week or two before you stop smoking. Ask your doctor or a local stop smoking adviser whether prescription medicines may help you.
3. Change your behaviour
NRT and stop smoking medicines can help curb cravings, but they can’t completely eradicate them. There are some additional things that can help including:
- Avoiding triggers – For you, some events or times of the day may have a strong association with smoking: after food, with a coffee, after putting the kids to bed, when chatting to a friend, or having an alcoholic drink. Try doing something different at these times. You don’t have to make this change forever, just until you have broken the association with smoking.
- Staying strong – Expect your cravings to be at their worst in the first few weeks after quitting. The good news is that they’ll pass, and the quickest way to achieve this is to commit to the “not a single drag” rule. When you’re ready to stop for good, promise yourself “I won’t even have a single drag on a cigarette”. If you feel like smoking, remember “not a single drag” to help the feeling pass.
- Exercising – Physical activity may help reduce your nicotine cravings and relieve some withdrawal symptoms. It may also help you to reduce stress and keep your weight down. When you have the urge to smoke, do something active instead.
- Being prepared – Expect cravings at special events like holidays, funerals or weddings. You may never have experienced these events as a non-smoker before, so you’ll associate them strongly with smoking. Have some fast-acting NRT with you just in case. When an urge to smoke strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it’ll be short lived and will probably pass within a few minutes. Each time you resist a craving, you’re 1 step closer to stopping smoking for good
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