Tactics of a general practitioner in case of suspected acute cerebrovascular accident and measures to prevent it

Abstract

Acute cerebrovascular accident (stroke) is a fairly common severe pathology, which is one of the main causes of death in most countries. Every year in the world, a stroke occurs in 15 million people, of whom about 5 million die, and the same number become disabled. The disease is based on a sudden sharp failure of the normal blood supply to the brain substance due to a rupture or blockage of a blood vessel. Mortality in the first weeks after a stroke can reach 30-35%. Depending on the pathogenesis of the lesion, stroke can be ischemic and hemorrhagic (ischemic occurs about 6 times more often); clinical symptoms will depend on which area of the brain is involved in the pathological process. Predisposing factors include heredity, gender (more often observed in men), age (in elderly age, the risk of stroke increases every year), arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypodynamia. Since in 80% of cases after a stroke people become disabled, often unable to take care of themselves, the problem of acute cerebrovascular accident has long passed from the category of purely medical issues to the category of socio-economic ones. The tasks of the general practitioner include the timely identification of factors predisposing to the development of a stroke and minimization of the possible risks of this formidable condition, and in the case of a stroke, active participation in the patient's rehabilitation process.