這些病症警示可能是中風大綱

What Are the Warning Signs of a Stroke?

這些病症警示可能是中風

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that stroke kills about 140,000 Americans each year. Someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies from it every four minutes. Although stroke risk increases with age, about one-third of people hospitalized for stroke are under 65 years old.

美疾控中心估計，中風每年導致約14萬美國人死亡。在美國，每40秒就有人中風，每4分鐘就有人因中風離世。儘管年紀越大，中風的風險越高，但約三分之一的中風住院患者不到65歲。

The CDC estimates that stroke costs the U.S. $34 billion each year in health care services, medicines to treat stroke and missed days of work. Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability.

美疾控中心估計，中風患者每年在醫療保健服務、服用中風藥物以及中風請假方面花費340億美元。中風是引起長期嚴重殘疾的首要原因。

Yet, despite these dire statistics, the American Stroke Association says that stroke "is preventable, treatable and beatable." The treatment part, however, depends the most on one important factor: speed. The faster you recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke and begin treatment, the more likely you are to prevent long-term disability and death.

然而，儘管這些數據令人望而生畏，但美國中風協會表示中風“是可預防的、可治療的，也是可以打敗的。”但治療中風的關鍵因素在於：時間早晚。一個人越早意識到中風的跡象和症狀並越早開始治療，其預防長期殘疾和死亡的可能性也就越大。

Types of Stroke

中風的類型

First, it's important to understand what a stroke is. The most common type is called ischemic stroke. This is when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed by fatty deposits in the vessel lining, which is known as atherosclerosis. The ASA says about 87% of all strokes are ischemic in nature.

首先，瞭解中風十分重要。最常見的一種類型叫做缺血性中風。當爲大腦供血的血管被血管壁中的脂肪沉積物阻塞時（也被稱爲動脈粥樣硬化），就會引起這類中風。美中風協會表示，87%的中風案例都是缺血性的。

Hemorrhagic strokes, which comprise about 13% of stroke cases, result when a weakened blood vessel ruptures – most often the result of untreated or poorly treated high blood pressure – causing bleeding into the brain. The blood builds up and compresses the surrounding brain tissue, causing tissue damage and cell death.

出血性中風約佔中風案例的13%，是由血管破裂力減弱（通常是高血壓未經治療或治療不當所帶來的結果）導致腦出血所致。血液積聚並壓迫周圍的腦組織，導致組織損傷和細胞死亡。

In each case, the longer the condition lasts, the more damage occurs. Stroke specialists use the phrase "time is brain" – every second the stroke lasts, more brain cells are damaged and die.

在每種情況下，症狀持續的時間越長，造成的傷害也越大。中風專家常說這樣一句話“時間就是大腦”——中風每持續一秒，就會有更多的腦細胞受損並死亡。

Another important type of stroke to know about is called a transient ischemic attack, or TIA. Also called a ministroke, a TIA is a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain. It doesn't cause permanent damage, may not cause noticeable or long-lasting symptoms and is often ignored. But the ASA warns that TIAs may signal that a full-blown stroke is soon to come, so symptom awareness is critical.

另一種需要了解的中風類型叫做短暫性腦缺血發作，又稱爲小中風，是暫時性的大腦血流阻塞。小中風不會造成永久性傷害，也可能不會引起較明顯或持久的症狀，因而經常被忽略。但是美中風協會警告稱，小中風可能預示着中風晚期，這時候症狀意識就顯得尤爲重要。