What is the difference between epilepsy and stroke

When needed, medications can also help control them. A doctor will perform an exam and listen to your heart. These kinds of imaging tests may also help diagnose a seizure. Blood tests and a physical exam are also part of the diagnostic process. It can help restore healthy blood flow. Your doctor can also insert certain devices into an artery and guide them to the location of a clot to retrieve the clot and restore blood flow.

Your care after a stroke will depend on the severity of the stroke. Physical therapy is usually required, especially if the stroke compromised your ability to walk or use your hand. Your doctor may also prescribe a blood thinner and blood pressure-lowering medication. Dozens of medications are available to control and prevent seizures. The right medication for you depends on the type of seizures you have. You may need to try a few different drugs and doses to get the right combination for you.

Seizure medications are usually taken daily to help prevent these episodes. Rest is usually advisable after a seizure. Finding a calm and quiet setting is helpful. It can take hours to recover fully. You can have a mild stroke that leaves you with minimal complications or a more serious stroke that causes permanent disability or even death.

If you receive treatment quickly after a stroke, your odds of a good recovery are much higher. If you participate in rehabilitation, you also improve your chances of a full recovery. For some people, stroke recovery is a lifelong journey. Once you find the right medication to control your seizures, living with epilepsy can be manageable. Be proactive about seeking help to control and prevent seizures.

If you have risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure or smoking, take steps now to control those. You can:. Seizures and strokes can be serious. But you may be able to keep them from interfering with your health and quality of life by taking preventive steps and proper care now. Learn more about seizure after stroke here. Find out the risk factors for post-stroke…. Know someone with epilepsy? Find out what steps you need to take if your friend, a loved one, or a co-worker experiences a seizure in your presence.

Coronary artery disease reduces blood flow to your heart. Learn how to recognize coronary artery disease symptoms, how to manage the symptoms, and…. It's important to take steps to protect yourself against injury if you experience seizures. Once neurons start dying, they continue to die — at a rate of 2 million per minute. Therefore, early detection is key. Some signs may be subtle.

But the acronym FAST can help identify the early stages of a stroke and remind you what to do:. A stroke takes place when blood flow to the brain is stopped. The brain needs blood flow to receive the constant supply of oxygen and nutrients it needs.

A recent JAMA Neurology study showed an increase in strokes among young adults over the past two decades. It also found an increase in stroke risk factors for all adults. I think the reason we are seeing more stroke patients nowadays is, first, because people are living longer and, secondly, the average life is quite sedentary, which increases obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, all of which are risk factors for a stroke.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, making the right choices in terms of diet, and exercising regularly will help reduce the chances of experiencing a stroke. Meat, especially red meat, increases cholesterol while fruits and vegetables have fiber, which sweeps out the cholesterol.

Mark is thankful for his recovery and for the excellent care he received at the Sanford Stroke Center. Written by Jane Heilmann Pat Miller. February 21, Select basic ads.

Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. The differences between a stroke and a seizure can be confusing. Both conditions involve the brain, may be characterized by problems controlling physical movements, are not uncommon, and involve unexpected brain episodes or "attacks. They also each have a few different names, which can add to the difficulty.

If you are not sure whether you or someone for whom you're a caregiver has had a seizure or a stroke, here are ways to understand some of the differences, so that you will know what to expect. Epilepsy is the correct name for the medical condition in which people are prone to repeated seizures. A stroke is brain damage caused by interruption of blood supply to an area of the brain, either by a blockage of arteries ischemic stroke or by bleeding into brain tissue after a blood vessel ruptures hemorrhagic stroke.

When a region of the brain is damaged by a stroke, a person may lose some physical or mental ability that is normally controlled by the damaged region. A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person appears or acts for a short time. It may cause uncontrollable physical movements or a change in consciousness.

After a stroke, the damaged area of the brain forms scar tissue, and this tissue may begin sending out abnormal electrical signals. Scar tissue from any cause can do this. This electrical activity can trigger seizures based on its location and whether it spreads.

So brain damage caused by a stroke may result in seizures down the road, and in some cases epilepsy. In most cases, a seizure does not affect blood flow to the brain, and therefore a seizure does not cause a stroke. Some studies have been conducted, however, to determine whether seizures might be a sign of cerebrovascular disease or higher risk of stroke. It is extremely rare for a seizure to cause death. However, a bodily injury that occurs during a seizure can result in serious injury or death.

For example, if a person has a seizure while swimming, they could drown. If a person has a seizure while driving, they could get into an accident. If a person suffers a seizure and falls from a ladder, they may become severely injured.

There is also a rare condition called SUDEP, which is defined as the sudden , unexpected death of someone with epilepsy who was otherwise healthy. This is the leading cause of death in people with uncontrolled seizures. Overdosing on anti-seizure medications can, in rare instances, cause death. Many medications are available to help prevent a stroke in people who have risk factors.

Most stroke prevention medications are blood thinners. No current medication can improve the brain damage caused by a stroke, although a great deal of research is focused on finding medications to help lessen the effects. Occupational, physical, and speech rehabilitation can be very helpful, however, in bringing back some of the function that was lost by the stroke.