“Quiet stroke” is an acute disturbance of the cerebral circulation, which does not entail severe clinical symptoms. Most often, doctors find out about this condition retrospectively according to the data of computed or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Neurologist, candidate of medical sciences Aminat Dolova told about this to “Arguments and Facts”.
She listed seven signs that could indicate an impending problem. According to the specialist, Russians should pay attention to sudden onset of dizziness; gait and vision disorders; development of strabismus; loss of speech clarity; the incipient asymmetry of the face; feelings of numbness, as well as the appearance of a feeling of weakness in the limbs.
“If the symptoms are transient, patients often do not seek medical help and forget about the problem, but small areas of damage are still formed in the brain, which can later be seen on CT or MRI,” Dolova explained.
She added that the prognosis of the disease is usually favorable, however, according to studies, 10-15 percent of patients who have had a “silent stroke” develop more serious cerebrovascular accident over the next few years.
The neurologist emphasized that people suffering from hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart rhythm disturbances and atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries are at risk for the development of the pathology of “silent stroke”.
Earlier, cardiologist Natalya Gavrilyuk named the conditions for urgent hospitalization with low blood pressure. According to her, the conditionally dangerous pressure is 90/60 millimeters of mercury. However, if such pressure is, in principle, characteristic of a person, then one should not panic. In the event that a patient has never experienced a decrease in blood pressure, and suddenly it began to fall sharply in combination with symptoms such as cold sweat, chest pains, shortness of breath and tachycardia, then an ambulance should be called. Doctors need to be sure to rule out acute conditions such as myocardial infarction or stroke.
