Due to the fact that the environmental condition is deteriorating every day, bad heredity appears more often. People also lead an unhealthy lifestyle, and because of this, cases of heart attack and stroke are also becoming more frequent. But the majority of fellow citizens believe that there is practically no difference between these diseases. But this is a grave mistake.
To find out how a stroke differs from a heart attack, you first need to know what causes these diseases. Both are classified as cardiac disorders. Just a few years ago, only older people could get sick from them. But nowadays it is increasingly common among the younger generation.
Heart attack
How is a heart attack different from a stroke? The answer to this question can be found by considering their characteristics. A heart attack is a disease of an organ of a local or all-encompassing nature. It occurs due to thrombosis in the vessels, as well as the lack of supply of nutrients and nutrients. Immediately after a heart attack (within three to four hours), necrosis may develop, and the organ gradually dies.
When making a diagnosis, the doctor must clarify the location of the lesion. These may be the following organs:
- cardiac muscle - myocardium;
- brain;
- liver;
- intestines.
Since the main cause of this disease is vascular thrombosis, this is the main difference from a stroke.
Symptoms of a stroke
Before we talk about the symptoms, let’s find out what a stroke is. A stroke is a sudden disruption of blood flow in brain cells.
May be a consequence:
- Problems with cerebral vessels:
- Atheroma;
- Formation of blood clots from blood clots;
- Embolism (blockage of blood vessels);
- Ischemia (blood circulation is impaired);
- Severe bleeding into the membrane or brain (hemorrhagic stroke):
- High blood pressure;
- Hardening of the arteries;
- Diabetes;
- Arrhythmia;
- Sedentary lifestyle;
- Smoking.
Today, people from 20 years of age to old age can face the disease. At a young age, women are more likely to experience stroke, especially during pregnancy; after 70 years, men are more likely to suffer from stroke.
You can also read about the consequences of a stroke on the right side after 80 years on our website.
A doctor or paramedic providing assistance can determine the symptoms of a stroke in a patient. Their decision occurs after a series of examinations and diagnostics.
Based on a long-term study of the disease, it was possible to identify the main symptoms indicating the presence of a stroke:
- General brain symptoms are indicators of several brain disorders:
- My head is spinning;
- Bad condition;
- The patient becomes deaf or reacts violently even to quiet sounds;
- Problems with coordinating your movements and movement in general.
- Symptoms depending on the source of the problem:
- Unexpected paresis;
- Complete or partial paralysis;
- Blindness or pupillary displacement;
- Speech disorders;
- Problems with independent movement;
- Impaired muscle tension in the occipital region.
To prescribe the correct treatment, general symptoms must be confirmed by data:
- computed tomography;
- MRI;
- EEG;
- blood tests, etc.
Stroke
What is this disease? How does a stroke manifest? The functioning of the nervous system organs is disrupted, which affects blood circulation, most often this happens in the brain. It can manifest itself in different ways:
- in the form of thrombosis, almost the same as during a heart attack;
- hemorrhage;
- spasm (this means that a sharp contraction of the artery occurs).
Stroke occurs in a more severe form and is characterized by dysfunctions for which the brain is responsible.
There are cases where a cerebral artery infarction is classified as a stroke. What other difference is there in these diseases?
These two diseases also differ from each other in that after a stroke, the affected area of the brain will not recover, and the work of dead cells will fall as an additional burden on neighboring ones, which function normally. And although rehabilitation takes a long time and requires a lot of patience, recovery is quite possible.
Why is a stroke dangerous?
There is no more dramatic and more serious vascular accident than a cerebrovascular accident. After a stroke, returning to previous physical activity is extremely difficult. According to statistics, this is successful in no more than 30% of patients. Another 30% die. And a very bad outcome is when a person is left with severe disorders of movement, speech, dysfunction of the pelvic organs and remains paralyzed for many years to the “joy” of his family and friends. We all know such families, and it is not clear who is worse off - the one who is paralyzed, or the one who is caring.
To all those who do not want to undergo treatment and flaunt the fact that they easily tolerate high blood pressure, I would like to say: think about what it will be like for your children later? With your reluctance to undergo treatment, you can ruin their life for many years.
Causes
How is a stroke different from a heart attack? To answer this question, it is necessary to highlight the causes of occurrence caused by such diseases:
- thrombosis in blood vessels;
- atherosclerosis;
- hypertension;
— infectious diseases (acute forms) that the patient is suffering or has already suffered.
Also, poor heredity and environmental factors can trigger the development of the disease. In addition, the cause of this disease can be:
- alcohol, nicotine and drug addiction;
- stress, poor diet;
- excessive physical activity.
The first signs of two diseases
What is the difference between a stroke and a heart attack that they are so often confused? Although these are two different diseases, the symptoms are very similar. The first signs are:
- pallor and numbness of the body, in most cases accompanied by loss of consciousness;
- blood pressure deviates from the norm, most often it is elevated;
- facial features become numb, shortness of breath occurs, breathing problems appear, which, in turn, creates a great threat. At this moment, you need to carefully ensure that the tongue does not sink in and impede the flow of air into the body;
- sharp pain.
Advice from a cardiologist
And finally, I would like to give you some advice from myself. It’s mid-April now, and in just a little while, summer residents will start gardening. It was at this time that the flow of stroke patients, according to statistics, increases significantly.
This is due to the position in which people have to dig in the beds, planting, weeding, etc. This position of constantly tilting your head down poses an increased danger and often provokes a stroke.
How to be? After all, one cannot completely abandon working with the land, especially since it simply feeds many. Of course not. You just need to know the limits of the load.
Follow these simple recommendations when gardening and you will significantly reduce the risk of stroke:
- Never work in the heat
- Take a break every 2 hours
- All gardening tools must have long handles.
- When weeding beds, it is better to sit on a bench or at least squat, but not upside down
- Measure and monitor your blood pressure throughout the day
- Listen to your health so as not to miss the alarm bell. No one can do it better than you
That's all for me. Now you know how to recognize the signs of a stroke and heart attack and what to do in this case. With you was Vera Mikhailovna Ilyukhina, a cardiologist and author of articles in the “Cardiovascular Diseases” section of the “Notes of the Village Aibolit” website.
First aid
First aid is required, in both the first and second cases. To begin with, what should be done is to provide the patient with access to oxygen, and then take measures to restore the normal functioning of the affected organ. If you don’t know how to do this, then it is better not to touch the victim, but to provide complete rest. An ambulance should be called as soon as possible.
If it is a stroke, and the brain cells are not fed with the necessary substances for three hours, then necrosis will begin - cell death.
If it is a heart attack, then there is a high probability that death will occur before the ambulance arrives. But even with the timely help of doctors, a transplantation is necessary to save a life, or the implantation of valves and artificial plates will be required.
After a stroke
Those liters of drugs that in Russia are customary not to be poured into a patient who has suffered a stroke are completely useless. Nowhere in the world are drugs such as Actovegin, Cerebrolysin, and piracetam used. This is wasted money and wasted time that could be usefully spent on rehabilitation, physical therapy and classes with a speech therapist.
And then the doctor’s main efforts should be focused on preventing a recurrent stroke . On the treatment of hypertension, on lowering cholesterol levels, on the prescription of drugs that affect blood clots.
Stroke and cerebral infarction. Difference
How is a stroke different from a cerebral infarction? Their differences are as follows:
- During a stroke, the blood supply to the brain is blocked. And this leads to tissue damage. A heart attack disrupts the nutrition of the damaged organ. This leads to tissue death.
- A stroke affects only the brain, and a heart attack, when necrosis occurs, affects any organ.
- Heart attack refers to cardiovascular diseases. Stroke is a neurological disease.
- There are many reasons for a stroke, but for a heart attack the main one is thrombosis;
- The result of a stroke is disability. After the second disease, death often occurs.
How is a stroke different from a cerebral infarction? The difference can also be seen in the symptoms:
- During a stroke, dizziness occurs and the gait becomes unsteady. During a heart attack, such signs are not observed.
- When a stroke occurs, the patient loses consciousness. During a heart attack, he experiences severe weakness.
- When a stroke begins, there is numbness in the limbs and difficulty in movement. And during a heart attack, activity occurs due to severe pain.
Causes of stroke
Among the main causes of cerebral infarction are atherosclerotic lesions of blood vessels. The main causes of hemorrhagic stroke include arterial hypertension; the most dangerous is a blood pressure level of about 150/100 mmHg. Art.
Patients who have had a myocardial infarction have a higher risk of developing a cerebral infarction. Thus, in approximately 8% of cases, during the first month after a myocardial infarction, the patient develops an ischemic stroke, in 25% of patients this occurs within 6 months.
The mortality rate for hemorrhagic stroke is higher and amounts to 60-70%, which is explained by damage to brain tissue not only as a result of ischemia, but also due to soaking and compression with blood.
Heart failure and coronary heart disease increase the risk of developing all forms of stroke. In addition, risk factors include atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus and other pathologies of the endocrine system, anemia, leukemia, and malignant neoplasms. The occurrence of strokes is facilitated by genetic predisposition, lack of physical activity, obesity, bad habits, old age, and chronic stress.
Stroke and myocardial infarction. Differences
How is a stroke different from a myocardial infarction? Here are the first symptoms of a heart attack:
- the occurrence of compressive pain that radiates to the left side of the body above the waist, as well as to the jaw and throat;
- tachycardia can be distinguished;
- the nasolabial triangle turns blue, the skin of the face darkens, and with it the earlobes;
- severe shortness of breath occurs;
- arrhythmia, sharp pain in the abdominal area;
- unusual cough.
In rare cases, the only symptom observed is complete cardiac arrest.
Precursors of heart attack and stroke
Diseases such as heart attack and stroke are based on the same vascular damage, most often of a sclerotic nature. Despite the difference in the clinical picture, similar disorders lead to heart attack and stroke, namely metabolic disorders caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Therefore, if we start from afar, then the harbingers of a heart attack and stroke are exposure to stress, poor nutrition, both in terms of diet and diet, leading to the appearance of cholesterol plaques in the vessels, and a sedentary lifestyle.
As the problem worsens, the symptoms of ill health increase. Attacks of angina pectoris, or, as it is also called, angina pectoris, indicate that cardiac ischemia is increasing. If the intervals between attacks become shorter, the attacks themselves are longer and more difficult to stop, this is direct evidence that any strong irritant, physical activity or psycho-emotional stress, can lead to a heart attack. The immediate warning signs of myocardial infarction are the following: shortness of breath, increasing pain and tightness behind the sternum, and discomfort in the chest area. The pre-infarction state is also characterized by nausea, dizziness, pale skin, sticky cold sweat, confusion (fainting).
It must be said that these symptoms are not specific, they can precede both a heart attack and a stroke, the only difference is that a stroke is more characterized not by heart pain, but by headache. In addition to the listed signs, the following may indicate an impending stroke: numbness of one half of the body, the whole or any part (half of the face, lips, arm, leg), temporary loss of vision or the appearance of spots before the eyes, dizziness, loss of coordination, disorientation, disturbance speech, confusion. A sharp, causeless headache, especially in people suffering from hypertension, can also indicate a pre-stroke condition.
If you notice similar symptoms in a person, indicating that a heart attack or stroke may develop, measures must be taken immediately. The most correct thing would be to provide the person with complete rest, fresh air (unbutton clothes, open the window) and call an ambulance, staying with him until the doctor arrives. Of the medications, you can only give what the attending physician prescribed if the patient already had a history of the disease. There is no need to give painkillers before the ambulance arrives, as this can blur the manifestations of the disease, thereby complicating diagnosis. Adequate treatment undertaken at the stage of precursors of heart attack and stroke will stop their further development.
