这些病症警示可能是中风

What Are the Warning Signs of a Stroke?

这些病症警示可能是中风

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.

美疾控中心估计，中风每年导致约14万美国人死亡。在美国，每40秒就有人中风，每4分钟就有人因中风离世。尽管年纪越大，中风的风险越高，但约三分之一的中风住院患者不到65岁。

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.

美疾控中心估计，中风患者每年在医疗保健服务、服用中风药物以及中风请假方面花费340亿美元。中风是引起长期严重残疾的首要原因。

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，尽管这些数据令人望而生畏，但美国中风协会表示中风“是可预防的、可治疗的，也是可以打败的。”但治疗中风的关键因素在于：时间早晚。一个人越早意识到中风的迹象和症状并越早开始治疗，其预防长期残疾和死亡的可能性也就越大。

Types of Stroke

中风的类型

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，了解中风十分重要。最常见的一种类型叫做缺血性中风。当为大脑供血的血管被血管壁中的脂肪沉积物阻塞时（也被称为动脉粥样硬化），就会引起这类中风。美中风协会表示，87%的中风案例都是缺血性的。

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.

出血性中风约占中风案例的13%，是由血管破裂力减弱（通常是高血压未经治疗或治疗不当所带来的结果）导致脑出血所致。血液积聚并压迫周围的脑组织，导致组织损伤和细胞死亡。

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.

在每种情况下，症状持续的时间越长，造成的伤害也越大。中风专家常说这样一句话“时间就是大脑”——中风每持续一秒，就会有更多的脑细胞受损并死亡。

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.

另一种需要了解的中风类型叫做短暂性脑缺血发作，又称为小中风，是暂时性的大脑血流阻塞。小中风不会造成永久性伤害，也可能不会引起较明显或持久的症状，因而经常被忽略。但是美中风协会警告称，小中风可能预示着中风晚期，这时候症状意识就显得尤为重要。