Stroke
What is a Stroke?
A stroke ( otherwise known as a brain haemorrhage or apoplexy) is the term used to describe bleeding in the brain. It occurs when a blood vessel bursts or falters and it can be caused by a variety of factors including physical injury to the head, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), atherosclerosis (excess cholesterol in the blood) and high blood pressure.
It is also part and parcel of coronary heart disease (CHD) - the most common cause of death in the western world and said to account for nearly 50% of all deaths in the U.K. Contrary to popular belief arterial degeneration does not only affect elderly patients. Of 3,000 US soldiers under 30 years of age who were killed in the Korean war, over 50% showed damage to their coronary arteries and a further 25% showed 'marked changes'.