Doctors warn that the cause of stroke is due to physical exercise and sports

Master, Doctor Kieu Van Duong - Deputy Director of Stroke Center, Nghe An General Hospital has recommendations on preventing stroke due to exercise and sports competition:

What is a stroke?

Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident, is a disease caused by localized damage to the central nervous system; occurs due to spontaneous damage to the cerebral circulatory system (not due to trauma); manifested by sudden neurological deficits; lasting at least 24 hours or death before 24 hours.

Pathologystrokeis the second leading cause of death in the world. If a stroke patient survives, he or she will be left with some serious neurological and permanent motor sequelae such as paralysis, weakness of part of the body, loss of language, emotional disorders, impaired vision... if not treated promptly and properly.

What causes stroke during exercise and sports competition?

There are many cases ofstrokewhen practicing and competing in physical education and sports. Each case has its own cause. For example, waking up to practice in the early morning and cold, at this time, after a long sleep, the human body is in a state of low blood sugar, high blood viscosity, making it very easy to have a stroke.

Next, people who practice and compete at high intensity, surpassing their body's limits, will have irregular heart rate and blood pressure changes. The body's organs work much faster than normal, which can cause cerebral ischemia, leading to a lack of oxygen and essential nutrients in the brain, easily leading to a stroke.

For people who practice and compete while having many injuries (especially neck and facial injuries), it is also very easy to cause damage to the carotid artery and eventually lead to a stroke.

Or, people who have just finished training or competing and then take a bath too soon. At this time, the heart muscle is working hard, the pores are open to the maximum to release heat. Bathing too soon will cause vasoconstriction, leading to the onset of a stroke.

In addition, when exercising and playing sports too hard, the body loses too much water and essential minerals that the practitioner does not replenish in time, which is also the cause of stroke.

Who is at risk of stroke when exercising and playing sports?

Stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, not just the elderly. However, stroke still occurs more often in groups of people with existing risk factors, such as people with cerebral vascular malformations, people with underlying diseases (hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disorders, obesity, cardiovascular disease...), smokers, alcoholics. This is the group of people with the highest risk. The risk is even greater for the elderly in this group.

The second group is due to people who play sports too hard, are too passionate, and push their endurance beyond their ability. For example, these people can only run 5 km, after training they push it up to 10 km, 20 km, but they try to run 30 km, or even more...

Signs to detect stroke

It is very difficult for patients to know they have the disease because usually there are no symptoms, only when a stroke occurs. Common signs in people with stroke are sudden symptoms such as: severe headache, sudden dizziness, loss of vision, facial paralysis, speech disorder, paralysis of one side of the body... These symptoms are the warning signs of stroke.

Principles of handling when seeing people exercising or playing sports have a stroke

When you see someone who is suspected of having a stroke or has actually had a stroke, immediately call an ambulance to safely transport them to the nearest hospital. This is very necessary to find a treatment opportunity within the golden hour to "save the brain" if the patient has any of the above symptoms.

Next, the stroke suspect must lie still on a hard flat surface. Pay attention to whether the stroke suspect has a breathing disorder, increased secretion of phlegm, or vomiting. If so, help the stroke suspect to lie in a safe side-lying position, then remove the phlegm as soon as possible, support breathing, and help the victim's airway to be clear.

To avoid worsening the condition and wasting precious treatment time, absolutely do not perform actions that hinder emergency treatment such as acupressure, massage, finger pricking... These actions are unnecessary and have no value in emergency treatment of stroke patients. In particular, do not let the victim eat or drink or take any medicine while waiting for emergency treatment.

How to treat stroke due to exercise and sports.

Treatment aims to reduce mortality and minimize the risk of serious complications. In general, the principles of stroke treatment are emergency, accurate and rapid treatment, limiting the spread of damage, optimizing neurological status, ensuring cerebral perfusion, preventing complications, helping patients recover function and helping to prevent the risk of stroke recurrence.

Depending on the cause of stroke, type of stroke, severity of stroke, overall health of the patient, time of emergency from the onset of symptoms, etc., the doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment method. Some stroke treatments that can be applied include: using intravenous thrombolytic drugs, endovascular intervention, surgery (removing hematomas, stopping bleeding blood vessels, dissecting the carotid artery, cutting arteriovenous malformations, etc.), endovascular embolization, etc.

Prevent stroke when playing sports and exercising

People with underlying diseases should always follow their doctor's treatment instructions, not skipping medication or buying medication on their own. These people should consult their doctor when they want to exercise regularly or play a sport... In addition, they need to have regular check-ups and comprehensive screening at hospitals with stroke departments to eliminate risks.

Anyone can exercise and play sports, but each person's physical condition is different, so it is necessary to apply the appropriate amount of exercise based on health status, combined with a reasonable diet. If the amount of exercise is too high, exceeding the threshold of the individual, it will lead to a stroke. In addition, when practicing and competing in sports, it is necessary to choose the right time to practice (not too early); it is necessary to warm up fully and properly.

Avoid bathing immediately after exercise or sports competition. Rest for about 20-30 minutes before bathing. Do not use water that is too cold or too hot (both have negative effects on blood vessels)./.