Stroke effects

[Donald]

My brother had a stroke last Monday and was airlifted to a hospital in Boston. I visited him and although he is awake and seems to somewhat understand what is being said he cannot talk. Weeks of recovery for him.

Although he took a statin, exercised and ate healthy he had plaque in carotid artery. Like a piece of plaque broke away and blocked blood into his brain. He had surgery to remove the plaque. He is 74.

I feel his pain looking at him in the hospital. I guess if I did not I would be a schmuck of a brother.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Sad to hear of your brothers health decline. Hopefully everything will be ok in time. My health screening for possible blockage in the blood system is next year. It takes about an hour of wait time and you lay down and go through the screening. My wife takes it too at about the same time. They give you the results about a half an hour later. Last time I did this everything was ok for both of us.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I am sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he makes a full recovery.

My mother had a stroke maybe 10 years ago, but was very mild. She made a mostly complete recovery at that time. She had a second maybe 6 months ago. It has affected her memory and I am sure some other things.

While leading a healthy lifestyle definitely lowers the risk, anyone can have a stroke and there are many causes - like clotting not just plaque. Is why its important for everyone to recognize the the symptoms of a stroke.

I wish you and your family well and your brother a speedy recovery.

 

[Cujet]

I am sorry to hear of this and I hope he recovers well. A friend of mine is back driving and living his life, although he does use Tesla's Full Self Driving quite a bit now.

Stroke is very common and we need to be honest about it. Diet and exercise do not eliminate the risk. It has been said that a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of stroke in older men about 30%. While a 30% reduction in risk is not insignificant, it means we have a long way to go towards preventing cardio-vascular issues. They are a leading cause of disaster.

I've had my health issues, and the journey has been eye opening.

Some sobering thoughts:

By age 70, ~75–80% of men have already had a cardiovascular event or diagnosis
Nearly 100% of men who reach age 90+ will have at least one diagnosed cardiovascular condition
After age 50, 25% of men will experience some form of stroke, ischemic or hemorrhagic.


Reality check: Egyptian mummies with preserved hearts showed heart disease and calcification with levels similar to today.

 

[Trav]

My best friend died about 5 years ago, he had one stoke then had 3 more while in the ICU, he was in a veg state when they pulled the plug on him, he was 68. Non smoker or drinker and not an oz overweight and ate a "healthy diet". You never know when your time is up, this came suddenly with no warning.

 

[JHZR2]

It’s scary to think about this stuff, both for one’s self and for parents, siblings, etc.

Scary to also think about how much we don’t know about a lot of this.

Best wishes to everyone on here that has mentioned recent issues with loved ones. Good health to all.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

Stroke is a cardiovascular disease. Cardio is caused by one and only one thing, crap diet. Processed foods and animal products. It is impossible to get cardiovascular disease if you eat a starch based, whole plant food diet.

See 2016 JAMA US Burden of Disease Assessment. #1 cause of premature death and disability, "Diet".
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2678018

 

[#18FAN]

Stroke is a cardiovascular disease. Cardio is caused by one and only one thing, crap diet. Processed foods and animal products. It is impossible to get cardiovascular disease if you eat a starch based, whole plant food diet.

See 2016 JAMA US Burden of Disease Assessment. #1 cause of premature death and disability, "Diet".
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2678018

What a load of BS

 

[spasm3]

Stroke is a cardiovascular disease. Cardio is caused by one and only one thing, crap diet. Processed foods and animal products. It is impossible to get cardiovascular disease if you eat a starch based, whole plant food diet.

See 2016 JAMA US Burden of Disease Assessment. #1 cause of premature death and disability, "Diet".
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2678018

You are not accurate.

Diet is one factor.

Genetic disposition.
Blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Smoking.
Cholesterol , even with a good diet, some people have high levels.
Being Male.
Lack of exercise.
Vascular spasm.
Clotting disorders.

Aortic valve vegetations.

Also structural defects such as an ASD, VDS, or a PFO. Left atrial myxoma.



Those are also factors.

It is not "impossible" to have cardiovascular disease with a good diet.

 

[andyd]

Hoping your brother recovers. Just before I turned 74, an MRI of my head revealed that I had had a stroke recently. Left parietal lobe. Never felt a thing. Modern medicine is keeping me going waaaay past my expiration date.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Truly sorry to hear. I had to pick up and bring my elderly neighbor to the E.R. who say he had a stroke. Lucky for him he had no to little effects and was talking like nothing happened. He has always done all of his own yard work and everything for himself. Scary. Hope brother can come out of this. Take care.

 

[Pablo]

Stroke is a cardiovascular disease. Cardio is caused by one and only one thing, crap diet. Processed foods and animal products. It is impossible to get cardiovascular disease if you eat a starch based, whole plant food diet.

Nope.
Total poop.

Vegans get strokes, heck vegans get fat. Often. But they are nutritionally lacking and often lethargic, depending on body type, genetics, starch intake, etc

In fact refined starch is probably worse than sugar, about the worst thing a human can eat, especially combined with seed oils from......plants..........which definitely add to stroke risk.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Wow, I wish your brother a speedy and full recovery. We worry about so much stuff that really matters very little.
At 72 I have lost so many friends and others have health issues. Decent health is a blessing.

 

[ecotourist]

It's important to realize that "no-one gets out alive".

The main causes of death vary by age but for the Bob group (statistically speaking) most people will die from heart attack, stroke or cancer. A small number could die from accidents, drowning, overdoses or other misadventures.

All we can do is try to put "that day" off for as long as possible. A sensible diet, not smoking, exercise, control of blood pressure, etc all help to put that day off. But nothing stops the march of time.

At 77 I've lost a number of friends and to be honest, very few of those deaths could be chalked up to poor lifestyle choices. Most died of cancer or heart attacks, but suicide, accidents and uncommon and untreatable medical conditions (ALS, inclusion body myositis) also put in an appearance.

 

[mojoe]

My brother had a stroke last Monday and was airlifted to a hospital in Boston. I visited him and although he is awake and seems to somewhat understand what is being said he cannot talk. Weeks of recovery for him.

Although he took a statin, exercised and ate healthy he had plaque in carotid artery. Like a piece of plaque broke away and blocked blood into his brain. He had surgery to remove the plaque. He is 74.

I feel his pain looking at him in the hospital. I guess if I did not I would be a schmuck of a brother.

Prayers for your brother. Every stroke case is unique, but I've had several friends and family members who had strokes, and made remarkable recoveries after what seemed at first like a devastating, permanent condition. Stay positive and keep us posted.

 

[02SE]

I'm sorry to hear it. A Stroke can be mild to fatal. Here's to a full recovery.

The husband of one of my cousins had a Stroke. Actually a series of them. The final one left him paralyzed and unable to speak. For 10+ years he laid in a bed unable to move or speak, but aware of his surroundings. He and his wife developed a method whereby he could communicate through eye blinks. Finally he passed and was no longer trapped in his broken body.

Last year a neighbor and friend had a Stroke, and he lingered in the ICU for 10 days before passing. I view that as merciful, in comparison to my cousins husband.

 

[Nyati]

I had an ischemic stroke 20 years ago when I was 50. I couldn’t walk or talk and my right hand grip was really weak. I had to go to therapy for 6 months to relearn how to talk and it took about that long until i could walk steadily . My stroke affected the rear of my brain and i permanently lost about 10% of my memory. Lots of prayer and a loving wife helped my recovery. The only residual i have now is when I get real tired, i lose strength in my right hand. Fortunately, I’m left handed. The neurologists and cardiologists never could determine the cause after many catscans, MRIs etc. Having a stroke gives you a whole new outlook on life- makes you appreciate every day.

The worst part of not being able to speak was that you perfectly understood people talking to you- but couldn’t respond either verbally or physically.

Good luck to your brother. Keep your chin up.

 

[OVERKILL]

So sorry to hear this Donald. Here is hoping for a speedy and full recovery! A good friend of mine (retired nuclear industry guy, expert on pressure tubes), had a stroke years ago and he was able to get back to 100%.

 

[CleanSump]

I'm sorry to hear of your brother's stroke and wish him a full recovery.
Everyone should know they can get scanned for potential problems and potentially prevent some of this. Especially important to get the stress tests and non-invasive echo diagnostics of the heart and carotids before you have a debilitating experience. It's just a few hours of time, maybe an inconvenience, and a couple of hundred dollars if your insurance won't cover all of it.
Not about me, but my Father, Mother, two older brothers all had by-pass surgery. My testing show no buildup at all, yet I grew up and lived on the same bacon, bologna, and hotdog diet. Get checked, don't fear the results, take action if needed.

 

[Donald]

I take Xarelto. I wonder if that would have prevented the stroke my brother had.