Sudden, painless loss of vision. Burning back pain. Achy legs. Incontinence….CONTINUE READING
People might not recognize these as signs of a stroke, because some are not the symptoms of a stroke in the brain, where most strokes occur. But strokes can happen in other parts of the body, too, according to Dr. Matthew Schrag, an assistant professor of neurology and vascular neurologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sudden, total vision loss in one eye may signal a stroke in the eye. Back pain, aching legs and incontinence, along with paralysis, weakness and loss of pain or the ability to feel temperature, signal a stroke in the spine. Though rare, these strokes, just like those in the brain, are serious and require immediate medical attention, Schrag shares.
“They present special challenges and can be harder to recognize, but are theoretically treatable,” he adds.
The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association define stroke as an obstruction of blood supply to the brain, spinal cord or retina that causes cell death. When strokes occur in the brain, symptoms may include numbness in the face, weakness in arms or legs, especially on one side of the body, trouble speaking or understanding speech, vision problems, lack of coordination or a sudden, severe headache.
But blood supply can be obstructed almost anywhere in the body, says Dr. Lucia Sobrin, a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
A stroke in the eye – known as central retinal artery occlusion, or CRAO – typically happens when plaque that has built up in a carotid artery, the main arteries on each side of the neck that sends blood to the brain and eyes, breaks loose and travels to the retina. That same plaque also could travel to the brain and cause an ischemic stroke. “It could go either way,” Sobrin notes.
Total vision loss in one eye typically occurs, but in some cases, a person may only lose partial vision, she says. “They may still be able to perceive light or motion.”
A CRAO isn’t fatal, Schrag says. But vision loss can be permanent if….CONTINUE READING