Hello. Can stroke happen and develop with low blood pressure? If so, how is it different from a stroke caused by high blood pressure?
Zdravko Dimov, Stara Zagora
Stroke is a dangerous condition that can lead to disability or death. In most patients, such a severe attack develops against the background of a sharp change in arterial blood pressure.
Both decreased and increased indicators affect blood circulation, as well as the speed of the destructive process. Also, they can alternate before exacerbation.
In recent years, the number of people experiencing a stroke before the age of 40 has risen sharply. Most of them did not notice or did not pay attention to the characteristic signs of vascular disorders.
Clinical studies prove that an acute attack can occur with almost equal probability in both high and low blood pressure. There are two types of stroke:
• Hemorrhagic. It occurs with high arterial pressure, which rises sharply by as many as 50-70 points. The blood vessels cannot withstand the load, burst and hemorrhage in the brain follows. Blood pressure readings remain very high, special medication is required
• Ischemic. When the blood pressure increases by only 20-30 points, the blood flow increases, the dense thrombus breaks off and blocks the artery feeding the brain substance. Such a situation often occurs with low blood pressure indicators that appear after stress, lack of sleep, fright.
No less dangerous variant of ischemic stroke is characterized by low blood pressure. With a prolonged drop in blood pressure to 90/60, the blood supply to some parts of the brain deteriorates in this patient.
Gradually, hypoxia develops and microstroke occurs, without pronounced signs of ischemia. Generally, patients find out about their condition after a few years, when complications already appear.
Important
Any deviation of indicators from normal by 20-30 points causes damage to blood vessels. This is a major cause of acute hemorrhagic attack
In hypertension
Arterial hypertension is a chronic disease of the circulatory system in which the blood pressure remains at the level of 140/90.
In the absence of treatment, the indicators gradually increase, and painful crises occur - sharp attacks of dizziness, severe pain and vomiting. During a stroke, blood pressure readings can reach 280/140.
Hypertension is a major cause of hemorrhagic hemorrhages. Among the predisposing factors are:
• refusal to take medication;
• fondness for fatty, s alty and spicy food;
• stress;
• fits of anger or emotional turmoil.
In case of chronic hypertension, it is necessary to strictly observe preventive measures: monitor your diet, cholesterol level, reduce s alt.
Don't forget to drink the medicines prescribed by your doctor, such as diuretics, alpha-adrenoblockers, calcium antagonists.
In case of hypotension
Doctors consider hypotension to be pathologically low blood pressure, not exceeding 100/70 or 90/70. Only in rare cases, such indicators are an innate feature of the body and are not dangerous for he alth.
In the rest of the people, circulatory disorders and hidden hemorrhages in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as anemia, are manifested in this way. When the level of such low blood pressure increases by only 20 units, a hypertensive crisis preceding a stroke can develop.
Ischemic stroke is most often diagnosed with low blood pressure. The patient feels dizzy, spasms, muscle weakness. Often a person does not consult a doctor, attributing the symptoms to overwork.
In case of low blood pressure, microstrokes most often occur, which patients spend "on foot". They are dangerous because they have no characteristic signs, but they irreversibly damage the brain.
After the stroke
In the first hours after the acute attack, the arterial pressure is above normal. The patient needs extreme help, infusion of special preparations that minimize complications and normalize the condition.
Decreasing indicators should happen gradually, without sharp fluctuations. This helps prevent relapse and maintain normal blood flow.
Important
After a stroke, the risk of a second stroke persists for 6 to 8 months
A simple test that will allow you to diagnose a stroke in 80% of cases:
► The face. Ask your loved one to smile. With a stroke, the smile is crooked because one half of the face is paralyzed.
► The hand. Ask the person to raise both arms at a 90-degree angle when sitting or 45 degrees when lying down. With a stroke, the patient can only raise one arm.
► The speech. Ask him to say some simple phrase. With a stroke, speech is slurred and unintelligible.
