Stroke Pocket Guide 2016: Full illustrated

Stroke Pocket Guide 2016
Full illustrated

Introduction:
Stroke is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a clinical syndrome consisting of “rapidly developing clinical signs of focal (at times global) disturbance of cerebral function, lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death with no apparent cause other than that of vascular origin”.1 Every year, 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke, and nearly 6 million die and another 5 million are left permanently disabled.2 Indeed, every 40 seconds someone in the United States (US) has a stroke.3 Stroke is the second leading cause of disability after dementia. Disability from stroke may include loss of vision and/or speech, paralysis and confusion, and stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability.
In the United States stroke is estimated to cost $43 billion per year.4 This comprises direct costs of medical care and therapy estimated to be $28 billion, and indirect costs of lost productivity and other factors of $15 million per year. The average cost of care for a patient for up to 90 days after stroke is $15,000, but for 10% of sicker patients, the cost of care for the first 90 days after a stroke can rise to $35,000.
But stroke is a preventable and treatable disease, and over the past two decades a growing body of evidence has overturned the traditional perception that stroke is simply a consequence of aging that inevitably results in death or severe disability. With more effective primary and secondary prevention strategies, better recognition of people at highest risk, interventions that are effective soon after the onset of symptoms, and providing the most appropriate care processes, there is evidence of better outcomes.5,6
In this book we describe as much as possible that is known about stroke today, from the possible causes and risk factors, through diagnosis, treatments.
There is a wealth of information available about stroke available for the physician and patient particularly on the internet. The most valuable of these are the web pages of the stroke charities worldwide, and the scientific organisations such as The American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA), which has detailed comprehensive information on all aspects of the disease, with pages targeting all stakeholders: patients, carers, physicians as well as researchers.

Table of Contents
Introduction
About Stroke and Its Causes
Definition of Stroke
Ischemic Stroke
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
Haemorrhagic Stroke
Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ICH)
Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH)
Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT)
Risk Factors and Preventing Stroke
Some Specific Risk Factors
Hypertension
Atrial Fibrillation
Antithrombotics
Bleeding Risk with Antithrombotic Therapy
Diagnosis and Treatment of Stroke
Rapid Recognition of Symptoms and Diagnosis
Diagnosing and Treating Haemorrhagic Stroke
Coping After a Stroke
Contacts and Links
References