ABSTRACT
Vascular cerebral episodes or strokes not only they are the third cause of death (10% worldwide, following cardiovascular diseases (13%) and cancer (12%), but they also affect younger people, according to statistics, with a huge social and financial impact. (Dokoutsidou et Antoniou, 2009) The Objective of this study was to review the literature regarding both risk factors and prevention issues about stroke. (Dokoutsidou et Antoniou, 2009)
Methods followed included review of the literature and research for investigational studies and reviews on ischemic stroke, in Greek and international databases. (Dokoutsidou et Antoniou, 2009)
Results: According to the literature, risk factors for ischemic stroke are categorized in not modifiable (sex, age, nationality – race, inherited traits) and modifiable, such as arterial hypertension, smoking, alcohol misuse, malnutrition, atrial fibrillation, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity etc. (Dokoutsidou et Antoniou, 2009)
Conclusions: According to the literature, the most crucial factor in the prevention of ischemic stroke is modification of risk factors. (Dokoutsidou et Antoniou, 2009) Stroke was recognized as a disease entity since thousands years before, in ancient Greece. Hippocrates used the term “apoplexy” to describe the sudden loss of senses and paralysis. The term “stroke” is used to describe the event of sudden and dramatic development of neurological deficit, as a result of acute obstruction or bleeding in one or more blood vessels of the brain leading to necrosis of brain areas fed by those vessels. (Dionysiotis, 2006)
Today we are aware that stroke often leads to death or permanent disability with functional and neurological deficits. It is the third cause of mortality in developed countries and it is also the first cause of disability in man. In Greece, according to statistics of World Health Organization, 25,000 incidents of stroke occur annually. (Dionysiotis, 2006)
KEY – WORDS: Stroke, prevention, risk factors.
