American Expatriate Costa Rica

Beware of whispering strokes!

Headache, tingling in the extremities, memory problems… These are symptoms that you can’t ignore, because they are some of the signs of whispering strokes. Have you heard of them?

A whispering stroke is a brain disease that affects cerebral arteries: they get clogged and heart attacks can go unnoticed. However, according to Edgar Jiménes, a specialist in neurosurgery, spine and brain, as time passes by, if they keep repeating, they can have an impact on the patient’s functionality.

Whispering strokes are also known as transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and they occur when the blood supply to part of the brain stops briefly.

Its symptoms are similar to a stroke, but they last from 1 to 2 hours. TIA are seen as a warning sign that there may be a real stroke in the future if nothing is done to prevent it.

The most common symptoms are: headaches, tingling in the arms or legs, memory disorders, visual disturbances, changes in the strength of the arms or legs. It all depends on the location and size of the brain hemorrhage.

People at greatest risk are the ones with severe obesity, hypertension or diabetes.

How to treat it?

-Have adequate control of blood pressure, diabetes and chronic diseases.
-Exercise regularly.
-Have a diet low in fat and carbohydrates.
-Sometimes, after medical assessment, medications are used to thin the blood.

crhoy.com