A facial droop after a stroke is often the first sign that someone has had a stroke. When you experience this feeling, it’s essential to seek medical attention right away. Clots in your arteries or veins cause strokes, so when one of these blood vessels becomes blocked, it can lead to tissue damage in the area around it. This type of injury interrupts oxygen and nutrient flow to your brain cells, resulting in a facial paralysis after a stroke. The facial expression change will be noticeable on one side of the face only because this is where most strokes occur.”A stroke is also called a cerebrovascular accident (CVA).”
Types of Stroke
Ischemic stroke
The most common type is caused by tick-borne bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi attacking nerves and brain tissues, including trigeminal ganglion located next to the skull behind eyes where facial motor neurons. It is caused by clots blocking blood flow to part of the brain leading to facial paralysis after a stroke.
Hemorrhagic – bleeding into or around the brain causing facial paralysis, weakness, or numbness in facial muscles.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage – bleeding between skull and surface covering the brain known as subarachnoid space. It results in headaches followed by vomiting and other symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, etc.
Transient ischemic attack (TIA), also called a mini-stroke,” occurs when there’s a temporary blockage that lasts less than 24 hours but can be a warning sign for future strokes.
Treatments for facial paralysis
Medications – possible side effects include dry mouth and nausea due to brain injury caused by a blockage in blood vessels.
Surgery-used if medication is not practical or there’s a blocked artery that can be opened up using a stent procedure where doctors place tiny mesh tubes into clogged vessels allowing it to open up.
Interventional therapy:
It is also known as an endovascular treatment. It involves inserting a catheter through an incision below your knee and threading it up to your neck and brain. Doctors open blocked blood vessels with a tiny balloon then remove them while facial droop disappears.
Causes of stroke
High blood pressure – Most medics call it hypertension. High blood pressure causes your blood vessels to constrict, inhibiting blood flow, thus causing a stroke.
Smoking –Tobacco contains nicotine which may lead to hypertension. Smoke in tobacco causes a buildup of fats in the carotid artery. Consequently, it thickens your blood which may result in clots causing a stroke.
Low body weight – those with low BMI (body mass index) are at risk of stroke. This is due to the high chance of having blocked arteries since fat cells help protect your arteries’ walls from debris buildup and other factors like smoking and diabetes. “A study found that people who had suffered one type of stroke called carotid artery dissection were twice as likely to experience the second event within five years.” This condition occurs when there’s a tear inside the carotid artery wall, and patients present facial paralysis and other symptoms such as vertigo, difficulty in speaking or swallowing.
Diabetes -Diabetic individuals are susceptible to blood pressure and likely become overweight. This causes the veins to constrict, which may result in a stroke.
Heart disease
The condition connotes defective heart valves and atrial fibrillation. This is the cause of a quarter of all strokes in the elderly in America. Clogged blood vessels may also result due to fatty deposits leading to hypertension.
Overweight
People who do not exercise are at a high risk of being overweight. Fat people are at an increased risk because excessive fats clog their blood vessels which causes hypertension, thus resulting in a stroke.
Medications.
Some drugs like blood thinners may result in a stroke. Blood thinners are prescribed to treat clots and may cause stroke through bleeding. Other medications such as hormone therapy used for menopause may cause a stroke. Low estrogen in birth control pills also makes your chances of a stroke go high.
Alcoholism
This condition may lead to high blood pressure and facial paralysis because heavy drinkers are likely to suffer from heart disease, thus resulting in a stroke. “Stroke is the No.l leading cause of permanent disability worldwide.” The statement was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012. It shows how widespread this medical condition is that it affects thousands of people every day across the globe. In Europe, 60% or 16 million individuals suffer strokes each year, making them dependent on nursing homes for the rest of their lives. In comparison, 20 % lose speech capability permanently due to brain injury caused by a blockage in the carotid artery.
Prevention of stroke
Several ways can be used to address stroke risk factors. For example, if you are a smoker, you should quit smoking immediately to avoid facial paralysis caused by a stroke. Obesity is also another risk factor that can be addressed through proper dieting and exercise routine.
Cardiovascular exercises such as jogging or swimming may help in preventing facial paralysis after having suffered from strokes. Aerobic activities like running help your body get rid of excess fats, thus avoiding the blockage in blood vessels that leads to facial paralysis. Finally, it’s important to control hypertension using medications.
Heart disease and heart attack.
Diet – eat healthy foods such as vegetables, fruit, and whole grains while avoiding processed food containing lots of sugar or salt, which contributes to facial paralysis caused by a blockage in blood vessels. Exercise daily and walking for 30 minutes will help increase oxygen flow to your brain cells and facial muscles leading to facial paralysis after a stroke disappearing completely while awake but coming back when you sleep.
Symptoms of stroke
Facial paralysis is the primary sign of stroke. Facial paralysis may be on one side or both sides depending on where brain injury occurred due to blockage in blood vessels.
“Some people also complain about headache along with facial paralysis after suffering from strokes,” says Dr. Nilufer Mowla, Specialist Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad.”Most common symptom following facial paralaysis which occurs during sleep is that patient feels pain around eyes upon waking up.”
Symptoms appearing immediately include numbness over the face, arm, and legs., Headache behind eyebrows; visual problems such as blurry vision, especially when looking towards the affected while blinded for the object seen by the other eye; trouble walking, talking, or understanding what others are saying.
Conclusion
Strokes are one of the most common medical conditions today because it affects thousands of individuals all over America. The good news is that proper medication and exercise can treat facial paralysis after a stroke to increase oxygen flow into brain cells.
