Vascular Stroke
Get to know the Vascular Stroke
Vascular Stroke is a type of stroke. sudden situation that creates in the family anxiety about the future, stress, confusion, guilt and need for information, support and guidance. Understanding your emotional state, we are close to you to inform, support and guide you.
A Stroke is a damage to the brain that is caused suddenly. The damage occurs when a part of the brain does not get blood flow because the blood vessel is blocked and the blood vessels are destroyed. brain cells of the region.
As a result, the way the body functions is affected, paralysis on one side of the body, problems with speech and language, the way the patient thinks, etc.
The problems it creates
The problems caused by a stroke are different in each patient.
Vascular strokes are divided into:
- Ischemic: means blockage of a vessel in the brain
- Hemorrhagic: means bleeding in the brain
- Transient ischaemic stroke: lasts only a few hours because the body itself has the ability to repair the damage so the symptoms subside.
Warning: transient vascular stroke is not an innocent thing. It is a warning that a new stroke may follow. For this reason, a thorough investigation of its causes is needed.
The most common problems caused by a stroke are:
- in movement and balance
paralysis or weakness on one side of the body
disturbances in balance and gait
- in speech and language
these problems are called aphasia and dysarthria.
Approximately 35% of stroke patients will experience aphasia. Usually, the lesion is located in the left hemisphere of the brain.
The patient either cannot speak, or speaks with speech that is not understood, or cannot understand speech.
Aphasia can cause disorders across the whole spectrum of communication: speaking, writing, reading and understanding.
Less severe is dysarthria, which causes problems in speech articulation due to weakness of the facial muscles.
Important: Memory and concentration problems also cause difficulty in speaking.
- Problems in the senses
In terms of vision, it is common to lose part of the visual field, e.g. not seeing the left half of the visual field from both eyes.
Other problems include diplopia (i.e. seeing double or complaining of being dizzy) and hypersensitivity to light.
On the sensory side, usually, they cannot feel what they are touching, they have no sense of hot and cold, they either do not perceive where the paralysed side's limbs are in space, or they may feel numbness.
- Problems in swallowing
He coughs because he cannot swallow his saliva, water, solid food, with the risk of all of these being directed to the lungs and causing pneumonia.
- Disorders of urination and defecation
- Problems with memory and concentration
Memory problems are about recent memory. He cannot remember if he ate, if he had rehabilitation treatment, if he took his medication, but he can remember events from 30 years ago in remarkable detail.
- Problems in psycho-emotional state and behavioural changes
The psycho-emotional state changes with mood and emotional disturbances (apathy, anger, guilt, obsession, depression).
His behaviour changes, he becomes irritable, blames everyone and everything, or talks and does things without thinking or develops flighty tendencies.
The steps after the Stroke at the Euxia Rehabilitation Center
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How important is it to start rehabilitation immediately after a stroke?
It is very important for the progression of the patient's improvement. Rehabilitation begins immediately after discharge from the hospital
- The speed of improvement of the patient's condition is greatest in the first few months after the stroke. In the following period, improvement follows a slower pace. However, improvement may continue for months or years.
- The processes that occur in the brain in the first period of time help speed up recovery.
Rehabilitation therapies from the second week after the stroke help to reorganise the brain.
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Trust the experts
How do rehabilitation therapies work to improve the patient's movement, gait, speech and concentration?
After the sudden stroke, the brain becomes disorganized.
However, after the first shock it has the ability to reorganise itself through a mechanism called good brain neuroplasticity.
What is brain neuroplasticity?
It is the ability of brain cells to make new connections with adjacent brain cells by bypassing the damaged cells in the area of damage caused by the stroke.
In this way, information is transferred and cooperation between brain cells is restored.
The mechanism of good neuroplasticity, in order to work, needs:
- the right biochemical conditions in the brain
- the appropriate therapeutic stimuli with many repetitions provided with rehabilitation treatments
- therapeutic stimuli must target all areas of the brain that are damaged at the same time, such as brain area related to movement, brain area related to speech
This is why they need comprehensive rehabilitation programmes with physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychological support, training in perception, judgement and self-care, so that the patient regains the ability to walk, eat, dress himself/herself, self-care in personal hygiene and in all activities of daily living.
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Patience is needed
Processes in the brain need time to stabilise and adapt.
A Stroke causes effects in the body that take time to recover from.
The duration of rehabilitation and the therapeutic effect is different for each patient with a stroke.
What Euxia does for patients with vascular stroke
We are here for you. We understand this difficult period and we support you step by step.
Our mission is to help people regain their skills quickly and return to their families.
Import procedure at the Euxia rehabilitation centre
The procedure includes:
- Examination of the patient by a Medical Pathologist and informing the responsible relative
- Examination by the Rehabilitation Physician (Physiatrist) in charge of the ward and informing the responsible relative
- Laboratory tests: blood and biochemical tests, urine tests. Electrocardiogram, recording of the patient's vital signs
- Information from the Nurse Manager on how the Wellness Room operates, on the room's facilities and the patient's needs
- At the Wellness Rehabilitation Center, you have your Personal Advisor to solve your questions, answer your queries, and adjust your needs.
It is the link between your family and Euxia
It is your man in the Wellness.
The stages of recovery
The patient is often on admission to the Rehabilitation Centre is prostrate in bed, unable to rise to a sitting position, has no trunk control and cannot maintain balance in a sitting position.
Simplifying the stages of rehabilitation, we divide them into 3 stages:
At 1ο Stadium, from the supine position to the sitting position, the patient is prostrated on the bed.
The important elements are the support of general health (regulation of blood sugar and blood pressure because they are deregulated as a consequence of the stroke, the assessment of the swallowing capacity and its treatment, the urination and defecation control disorders, the assessment of the cardiorespiratory capacity and its support) and the prevention of complications (venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, urinary - respiratory infections, acute confusion *2 etc.
Swallowing disorders need special attention at this stage. The risk is high for the patient's survival because of the chemical pneumonia caused by the food going into the lungs.
The swallowing ability test is urgent, is immediate and is applied to all patients by a speech and language therapist. In many cases, endoscopic examination (FEES) with a flexible bronchoscope is required. Due to the urgency of the situation, this examination is provided within the Wellness Rehabilitation Centre by a specialist Pulmonologist to avoid unnecessary and time-consuming transport of the patient.
The objectives of the rehabilitation program in 1ο It's a stage:
- The application of appropriate therapeutic stimuli to reorganise the brain
- The prevention of complications
- Improving the capacity of the lungs and heart
- Getting the patient out of bed as soon as possible because every day of bed rest has a loss of 1% of muscle strength, 1% of muscle mass and 1% of endurance
- Training him/her to be able to turn over on his/her side in bed and how to get up to the sitting position
Important: Mixed aphasia, memory and perception disorders, concentration problems, confusion and general health problems make it difficult to achieve the goals of 1th Stadium.
The 1ο Stadium, is the Important on the patient's course of good progress.
At 2ο Stage, from sitting to standing.
The severity of paralysis of the lower limb plays a major role.
At this stage, at the Wellness Rehabilitation Centre, for patients with vascular stroke, therapeutic equipment of advanced technology is used according to the needs and severity of paralysis, so that the appropriate therapeutic stimuli through the mechanism of good neuroplasticity, to achieve the upright posture (photo equipment).
At the same time, the Rehabilitation Program includes treatment of the paralyzed upper limb with equipment that evaluates the improvement and simultaneously treats by assisting the weak movements of the hand (photo equipment).
Also, training therapy of memory, judgment, perception, concentration, speech and language, psycho-emotional state, depending on the consequences of the stroke in each patient.
The Rehabilitation Program includes:
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Psychological Support
- Biofeedback therapy
- Neuromuscular stimulation *15
- Treatment in the pool
- Robotic upper limb treatment systems*6
- Treatment FES*7
- Pain treatment
- Static balance training systems
The 3ο Stadium is the stage of the march towards independence.
This stage is characterized by the acquisition of dynamic balance for safe walking and the learning of the gait process that has been lost as a result of the vascular stroke.
Specialised medical equipment at this stage is crucial for safe walking without falls.
The next step is learning to climb and descend stairs and assessment measurements to determine the risk of falling.
At the same time, the programme includes therapy to restore the ability to grasp objects by hand, training to help the patient to be self-sufficient in clothing, feeding and personal hygiene, improving memory, concentration and psychological state.
The Rehabilitation Program includes:
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Psychological Support
- Treatment in the pool
- Dynamic balance training systems
- BWGS gait training
- Robotic gait systems*5
- Biofeedback with FES*7
- Rehabilitation in a virtual reality environment*9
Monitoring the patient's improvement in Wellbeing after stroke
The patient is assessed at regular intervals using objective and clinical international assessment scales.
Objective assessments are performed with specialized equipment that accurately records the ability to perform individual functional activities, such as static and dynamic balance, gait, hand mobility, the ability to grasp objects, etc.
Clinical assessments usually do not require special equipment. They are measurements recognised by the international medical community for their reliability.
These measurements are repeated, compared with previous measurements and provide information on the degree of improvement of the patient.
They record the deviations from the normal, clearly reflect the functional status of the patient, so that the scientific team of Wellness, to design specific rehabilitation programs for the needs of each patient at each stage of development.
To feel safe after a stroke
For the safety of our patients, at Euxia, we decided to operate within the Rehabilitation Centre, so that a Microbiology Laboratory, a Radiology Laboratory, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with ventilators for emergency situations and private ambulances are readily available, Blue Alert Team for emergency resuscitation, swallowing assessment with a flexible bronchoscope, urodynamic testing to measure bladder pressures, Personal Advisors for easy communication, Biochemical Balance Department as well as innovative Rehabilitation Therapy Departments*8
- Our patients get the maximum rehabilitation result in the shortest time, saving time and money
- We have the most experience of 26 years in rehabilitation and the high efficacy rates of our treatments will make you feel confident about the result.
- The strong and experienced team of doctors and therapists applies established techniques and treatment methods, following the developments of science and technology.
- Our medical, nursing and rehabilitation services are certified according to international standards to ensure:
- the safety of your health
- and the effectiveness of the service provided
- Healthy Environment
Strictly double and single rooms, are the conditions recommended internationally, ensuring hygienic living in a natural environment, free from the pollutants of the city, in order to ensure the best conditions for recovery.
Advice after discharge from the Euxia rehabilitation centre
- Vigilance is needed and medical monitoring is recommended
- The risk of having a new stroke in the first year is high
- In the next 5 years the risk of a new stroke is 25%
- The risk is different for each patient who has had a stroke.
- The risk, however, can be significantly reduced when there is regular medical monitoring depending on the patient's problems
- The main risk factors are:
- High blood pressure
- Atrial fibrillation
- Diabetes mellitus
- High cholesterol
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- The unhealthy διατροφή
- Limited physical activity
- The age*14
- Remember that 90% of vascular strokes are linked to the general health status of the patient and his/her lifestyle
- It takes effort, motivation and determination
- Keep moving. Take time to exercise and walk for at least 20 minutes a day
- Even the psycho-emotional state improves with walking
- Stop smoking
- Follow an anti-inflammatory diet*12
- Take medicines correctly according to medical instructions
At Euxia, after discharge we are by your side. There are outpatient clinics with appointments with the medical specialists you need, for monitoring and advice to keep you healthy.
