Risk factors for having a stroke

Dr. Aysegul, clearly you're a stroke physician. Why do strokes happen? Right, it's a good question. As there are multiple risk factors, we're all at a risk of having a stroke. One in six, as some say, one in four chance of having a stroke. Aging is a big factor. Lifestyle, drug abuse, recreational drug use, smoking, alcohol, they all can contribute to stroke. You can have a deposition of bad cholesterols in your vessels which can cause a blockage which is called the carotid stenosis. It reduces the blood supply to a particular part of the brain. The brain is very sensitive to oxygen and as it gets damaged the patient suffers from symptoms which can be a weakness in the arms or legs or the speech depending which area is affected. It may be an irregular heartbeat where the patient has thrown a clot from the the heart to the brain and gives you the symptoms. In addition, poorly controlled diabetes and hypertension. Prolonged uncontrolled hypertension damages the vessels and patient gets the damage to a particular part of the brain called internal capsule, the subcortical area of the brain. This is also called dementia. Thank you.