Understanding Stroke
The brain is the most powerful organ in our bodies, and when it's damaged due to lack of oxygen or blood, a stroke may occur. There are two types of strokes. An ischemic stroke is caused by blockages in the blood vessels near your brain. This type accounts for about 80% of all strokes. Hemorrhagic stroke is a dangerous condition that can happen at any time. Hemorrhagic strokes occur less frequently, and are caused when a blood vessel leaks or ruptures in your brain.
Factors that increase your risk for stroke include smoking cigarettes, high blood pressure, a family history of stroke, high cholesterol or atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat). Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including quitting tobacco, may help reduce your chances of having a stroke.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a type of specialized medical treatment that focuses on giving you relief from symptoms and stress related to serious illness. It's offered by expert teams that include doctors and nurse practitioners who help people facing serious health conditions, such as complications from a stroke, have a better quality life — even if they are undergoing curative treatments.
How Can Palliative Care Benefit Stroke Survivors?
The symptoms of a stroke can be overwhelming, so it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible. You may experience numbness or weakness in your face, arms or legs. You may have trouble speaking or understanding speech. You may also experience headaches, loss of balance, dizziness or blurred vision. To minimize the damage caused by a stroke, you should seek immediate attention as soon as symptoms begin. If not treated properly, these symptoms may lead to long-term complications, such as paralysis or weakness on one side of the body (hemiparesis).
If you have suffered a stroke, your palliative care team can help you with the symptoms you are likely to experience afterwards, whether they are short term or permanent. They can help you manage muscle weakness and other discomfort, as well as problems with memory, speech or vision. They'll also give advice on medication management depending upon the stroke’s cause (blockage vs. hemorrhage) so you can make informed decisions about your care.
Your palliative care team will also be there for you to talk about future needs and getting the right care at home. These specialists can help you make decisions about whether living with a feeding tube is an option worth considering, in order to alleviate some symptoms and provide relief without side effects.
Palliative care is an essential component of medicine that focuses on the whole person. It's here to help you and your family cope with the effects of stroke as well as caregiver stressors such as depression/anxiety, all while enhancing communication between you and your doctors in order to provide the best understanding about your goals going forward.
Where Can I Get Palliative Care?
For those who are caring for someone who has had a stroke, or for patients living with the long-term effects of the condition, Carolina Caring offers comfort and support throughout the recovery process. From diagnosis to rehabilitation, we can help make each day more comfortable by providing services anywhere patients call home, including your residence, hospitals, assisted living centers, nursing homes and in outpatient clinics located in China Grove, Gastonia, Huntersville, Morganton, and Newton, N.C.
For more information about Carolina Caring’s Palliative Care Program, visit CarolinaCaring.org/palliative-medicine or call 828.466.0466.