Common Misconceptions About Stroke
When it comes to strokes, time is brain. This means that the sooner you can get to the hospital, the better chance you have of not suffering long term effects. Dr. Pouria Moshayedi discusses common misconceptions about strokes, how to know if someone is having a stroke, some things we can do to prevent or lower your risk of having a stroke, and more.
Featured Speaker:
Dr. Moshayedi completed his neurology training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and vascular neurology at the University of California Los Angeles. He also completed a neuroendovascular surgery fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) for neurology and vascular neurology. In addition, Dr. Moshayedi has a strong academic interest in neurosciences with a doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge and 42 published papers, review articles, and book chapters with over 2000 citations. He received his medical degree from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Pouria Moshayedi, MD, PhD
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi is a vascular neurologist and interventional neurologist. As a vascular (stroke) neurologist, he is focused on the treatment of acute stroke, as well as finding the cause of stroke to advise preventive therapy and minimize the chance of recurrent stroke. As an interventional neurologist, he treats cerebrovascular diseases such as acute stroke, carotid stenosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain aneurysms, and brain vascular abnormalities such as vascular malformations and fistulas.Dr. Moshayedi completed his neurology training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and vascular neurology at the University of California Los Angeles. He also completed a neuroendovascular surgery fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) for neurology and vascular neurology. In addition, Dr. Moshayedi has a strong academic interest in neurosciences with a doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge and 42 published papers, review articles, and book chapters with over 2000 citations. He received his medical degree from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Transcription:
Common Misconceptions About Stroke
Scott Webb: When it comes to strokes, time is brain. In other words, the sooner we get to the hospital, the better, the chances that we will not suffer long-term effects from a stroke. And joining me today to emphasize this point and dispel some of the misconceptions about strokes is Dr. Pouria Moshayedi. He's a vascular neurologist and neuro interventionist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
This is Jamaica Hospital Med Talk the podcast from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. I'm Scott Webb. So doctor, thanks so much for joining me today. We're gonna talk about stroke, but, along the way, we're gonna talk about some of the misconceptions, things people think they know about stroke, or may have heard about strokes and so on.
So as we get rolling here, maybe you can just tell us sort of a baseline. What is a stroke? What happens when someone's having a stroke?
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Yeah. So what they see from outside is, they suddenly lose some of the brain functions, and to count what those functions are. I mean, obviously brain helps us to move arm or leg helps us to speak, help us to understand when people are speaking to us, and helps us see and maintain our balance. And those areas are the very exact domains that are affected suddenly.
So whenever someone experiencing sudden difficulty in moving arm or leg, sudden difficulty maintaining balance, sudden loss of vision, sudden inability to produce the speed or understand, or any sudden abnormality in the face in a form of a face that looks through you on one side, more than the other.
Those are the signs of a stroke. And usually when a stroke happens, It could be very mild. It could be resolving, or it could be severe, lifelong and make someone bedbound. So it could potentially be very critical. And the reason that it's caused, is problem with blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain. So the blood seizes and then the area of brain that was receiving that blood, will die. We call it infarcted and that is underlying cause for stroke.
Scott Webb: Yeah. And I know that they say, time is brain, right? So time is of the essence. Let's talk about the misconceptions. I know there are a lot of misconceptions about stroke. Maybe you can help us separate fact from fiction.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Yeah. So one,, misconception is that a stroke is exclusively happening in elderly, which is not correct. We see a lot of people at young age, for different reason that have a stroke, and what we'll talk later about things to do to prevent a stroke. They should also be very aware and be mindful because a stroke can happ en at their age.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it is one of those things that we generally a lot of us, I'm in my fifties. And we think of it as being something that happens when you get older, but sort of alarmingly it's happening to younger people as well. Right.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: That's correct. And there are a number of reasons for that. Someone might be young on the age. But he has had high cholesterol, high blood pressure for long time. So for example, when we do vessel study, we call it angiogram. There are some angiograms in patients in their thirties and forties, which look like, patient in their eighties and nineties. And so we call them their vessels are old. Although the numerical age is low. And that is usually product of being unaware of those risk factors and not correcting them.
Scott Webb: Oh, that's really interesting as you say, their numerical age or their chronological age may be young, but the things inside the vessels and all of. Things because of risk factors or, , behavior and lifestyle and all those different things that people tend to do to themselves. They're older on the inside and they appear on the outside maybe is the right way to put that. You mentioned that we were gonna discuss how to prevent or lower our risk of stroke. So let's do that.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: First, everyone is at risk of a stroke if they're unaware of what's happening to their bodies. And it is more so for people who had a stroke once. They are at high risk of having a stroke. And there is something that is commonly called mini stroke, and that is a sudden onset of a stroke deficit that then resolves, and there's nothing found on the scans.
It's also called TIA and those people are also at very high risk of having a stroke. We could be potentially devastating in the following few days to weeks. So the things that they can do to prevent a stroke, I would group them in two because, I mean, obviously doctors know what to look for, but if like common people wanna know what to do to prevent a stroke, things that they need to change in their lifestyle.
And things that they need to be medically aware and go talk doctor and seek medical to care there. So most important thing in the lifestyle, if they wanna choose to do one thing, if they smoke, stop smoking. The smoking increases risk of a stroke up to six times. There's almost nothing as strong as stopping smoking that we physicians can do to, reduce risk of a stroke.
And if someone quits smoking, the good news is after five years, the risk of having a stroke is like someone who has never smoked. So there is, as they might say it, some forgiveness,, that our body does. It's not like saying, okay, you've been smoking like 20 years ago, now I'm going to revenge now. It's after five years, it's same risk level as a non-smoking person. The second thing is be aware of your weight.
And weight causes many other problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, try to control it, reduce it. Third is exercise and fourth is diet. So there is, very strong finding that people who, eat Mediteranean diet, which is high vegetables high in fruits, high knots, olive oil, and low in carbs is promoting the health. So these are the things with the Lifestyle part of things. And then there are things that they need to be medically aware.
So if they have been diagnosed with any of these medical conditions, they should make every effort, work with their doctors to control that condition and optimize it. And those are high blood pressure. So very important to work with your internist or family doctor, take medications and follow other recommendations, diabetes. Usually there are multiple ways to control diabetes. It's a combination of changing lifestyle and medication.
High Cholesterol and, again, it's done by a combination of medication and changing the lifestyle. And these are the most common causes of a stroke that can help us prevent.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it's good to know. I mentioned earlier that time is of the essence time. Brain like to have you tell the audience why it's so important. If we, or someone else is having a stroke that we get to the emergency department, as soon as we.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Very important. Another misconception, could be when a stroke is done, it's done. That is not correct. In fact, we have two of the strongest treatments in the history of medicine to treat a stroke. There are medications we can give to certain types of a stroke that help life and bust the clot. We call it clot busters and there are procedures we can do.
Again, certain types of a stroke to open up a blood vessel and help the brain to get, the blood and both are very, very effective in reversing the symptoms of a stroke. But there is importance of time. So there are time windows that they are effective and some of them, they cannot be applied if it's too late after symptoms. And the others, it still can be applied, but the benefits would be very limited.
So very important to call 911 and relate to the operator that we suspect the person is having a stroke because after saying that there are certain rules and regulations that the EMS will do to get the patient to the closest center where he can receive the best stroke care.
Scott Webb: Yeah, as they say, time is brain. This has been, really fun today actually to pick your brain a little bit and learn more about stroke and,, how we can prevent it of course, if you smoke, quit smoking. And I know smokers are tired of hearing that, but it's an important one. So doctor, thanks so much for your time today. You stay well.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Absolutely. It was a pleasure. Thanks for your time too.
Scott Webb: And to schedule an appointment with a neurologist at Jamaica hospital, please call 718-206-7001.
And if you found this podcast helpful, please be sure to share on social media and check out the rest of our library at Jamaicahospital.org/podcasts. Thanks for listening to Jamaica Hospital Med Talk, the podcast from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. I'm Scott Webb, stay well.
All the content of this podcast is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions discussed on this podcast.
Common Misconceptions About Stroke
Scott Webb: When it comes to strokes, time is brain. In other words, the sooner we get to the hospital, the better, the chances that we will not suffer long-term effects from a stroke. And joining me today to emphasize this point and dispel some of the misconceptions about strokes is Dr. Pouria Moshayedi. He's a vascular neurologist and neuro interventionist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
This is Jamaica Hospital Med Talk the podcast from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. I'm Scott Webb. So doctor, thanks so much for joining me today. We're gonna talk about stroke, but, along the way, we're gonna talk about some of the misconceptions, things people think they know about stroke, or may have heard about strokes and so on.
So as we get rolling here, maybe you can just tell us sort of a baseline. What is a stroke? What happens when someone's having a stroke?
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Yeah. So what they see from outside is, they suddenly lose some of the brain functions, and to count what those functions are. I mean, obviously brain helps us to move arm or leg helps us to speak, help us to understand when people are speaking to us, and helps us see and maintain our balance. And those areas are the very exact domains that are affected suddenly.
So whenever someone experiencing sudden difficulty in moving arm or leg, sudden difficulty maintaining balance, sudden loss of vision, sudden inability to produce the speed or understand, or any sudden abnormality in the face in a form of a face that looks through you on one side, more than the other.
Those are the signs of a stroke. And usually when a stroke happens, It could be very mild. It could be resolving, or it could be severe, lifelong and make someone bedbound. So it could potentially be very critical. And the reason that it's caused, is problem with blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain. So the blood seizes and then the area of brain that was receiving that blood, will die. We call it infarcted and that is underlying cause for stroke.
Scott Webb: Yeah. And I know that they say, time is brain, right? So time is of the essence. Let's talk about the misconceptions. I know there are a lot of misconceptions about stroke. Maybe you can help us separate fact from fiction.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Yeah. So one,, misconception is that a stroke is exclusively happening in elderly, which is not correct. We see a lot of people at young age, for different reason that have a stroke, and what we'll talk later about things to do to prevent a stroke. They should also be very aware and be mindful because a stroke can happ en at their age.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it is one of those things that we generally a lot of us, I'm in my fifties. And we think of it as being something that happens when you get older, but sort of alarmingly it's happening to younger people as well. Right.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: That's correct. And there are a number of reasons for that. Someone might be young on the age. But he has had high cholesterol, high blood pressure for long time. So for example, when we do vessel study, we call it angiogram. There are some angiograms in patients in their thirties and forties, which look like, patient in their eighties and nineties. And so we call them their vessels are old. Although the numerical age is low. And that is usually product of being unaware of those risk factors and not correcting them.
Scott Webb: Oh, that's really interesting as you say, their numerical age or their chronological age may be young, but the things inside the vessels and all of. Things because of risk factors or, , behavior and lifestyle and all those different things that people tend to do to themselves. They're older on the inside and they appear on the outside maybe is the right way to put that. You mentioned that we were gonna discuss how to prevent or lower our risk of stroke. So let's do that.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: First, everyone is at risk of a stroke if they're unaware of what's happening to their bodies. And it is more so for people who had a stroke once. They are at high risk of having a stroke. And there is something that is commonly called mini stroke, and that is a sudden onset of a stroke deficit that then resolves, and there's nothing found on the scans.
It's also called TIA and those people are also at very high risk of having a stroke. We could be potentially devastating in the following few days to weeks. So the things that they can do to prevent a stroke, I would group them in two because, I mean, obviously doctors know what to look for, but if like common people wanna know what to do to prevent a stroke, things that they need to change in their lifestyle.
And things that they need to be medically aware and go talk doctor and seek medical to care there. So most important thing in the lifestyle, if they wanna choose to do one thing, if they smoke, stop smoking. The smoking increases risk of a stroke up to six times. There's almost nothing as strong as stopping smoking that we physicians can do to, reduce risk of a stroke.
And if someone quits smoking, the good news is after five years, the risk of having a stroke is like someone who has never smoked. So there is, as they might say it, some forgiveness,, that our body does. It's not like saying, okay, you've been smoking like 20 years ago, now I'm going to revenge now. It's after five years, it's same risk level as a non-smoking person. The second thing is be aware of your weight.
And weight causes many other problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, try to control it, reduce it. Third is exercise and fourth is diet. So there is, very strong finding that people who, eat Mediteranean diet, which is high vegetables high in fruits, high knots, olive oil, and low in carbs is promoting the health. So these are the things with the Lifestyle part of things. And then there are things that they need to be medically aware.
So if they have been diagnosed with any of these medical conditions, they should make every effort, work with their doctors to control that condition and optimize it. And those are high blood pressure. So very important to work with your internist or family doctor, take medications and follow other recommendations, diabetes. Usually there are multiple ways to control diabetes. It's a combination of changing lifestyle and medication.
High Cholesterol and, again, it's done by a combination of medication and changing the lifestyle. And these are the most common causes of a stroke that can help us prevent.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it's good to know. I mentioned earlier that time is of the essence time. Brain like to have you tell the audience why it's so important. If we, or someone else is having a stroke that we get to the emergency department, as soon as we.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Very important. Another misconception, could be when a stroke is done, it's done. That is not correct. In fact, we have two of the strongest treatments in the history of medicine to treat a stroke. There are medications we can give to certain types of a stroke that help life and bust the clot. We call it clot busters and there are procedures we can do.
Again, certain types of a stroke to open up a blood vessel and help the brain to get, the blood and both are very, very effective in reversing the symptoms of a stroke. But there is importance of time. So there are time windows that they are effective and some of them, they cannot be applied if it's too late after symptoms. And the others, it still can be applied, but the benefits would be very limited.
So very important to call 911 and relate to the operator that we suspect the person is having a stroke because after saying that there are certain rules and regulations that the EMS will do to get the patient to the closest center where he can receive the best stroke care.
Scott Webb: Yeah, as they say, time is brain. This has been, really fun today actually to pick your brain a little bit and learn more about stroke and,, how we can prevent it of course, if you smoke, quit smoking. And I know smokers are tired of hearing that, but it's an important one. So doctor, thanks so much for your time today. You stay well.
Dr. Pouria Moshayedi,: Absolutely. It was a pleasure. Thanks for your time too.
Scott Webb: And to schedule an appointment with a neurologist at Jamaica hospital, please call 718-206-7001.
And if you found this podcast helpful, please be sure to share on social media and check out the rest of our library at Jamaicahospital.org/podcasts. Thanks for listening to Jamaica Hospital Med Talk, the podcast from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. I'm Scott Webb, stay well.
All the content of this podcast is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions discussed on this podcast.