Stroke is now third most common cause of death in the Western World. In simple language a stroke is either a blockage or a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain interrupting oxygen supply which results very quickly in the death of brain tissue supplied by the vessels involved.
‘Cerebrovascular Disease’ is used to mean any abnormality of the brain resulting from pathological processes of the blood vessels. Pathological processes are defined as any lesions of the vessel wall, occlusion of vessel lumen by an embolus or thrombosis, rupture of the vessel, altered permeability of the vessel wall or increased viscosity or other changes of the blood quality. Equally important are the metabolic and chemical changes that occur within the brain.
Two major types of stroke are ischemic and hemorrhagic. Most ischemic lesions (infarcts) are due to occlusion of the cerebral vessels. The brain requires 500-600 ml of oxygen per minute (25% of the total body consumption of oxygen). One litre of blood circulates through the brain every minute. If this flow is interrupted, neuron metabolism is disturbed after six seconds, brain activity ceases after two minutes, and brain damage begins after five minutes.
The most common vascular disorder that results in stroke is atherosclerosis, a non-inflammatory degenerative disease that affects segments of almost every blood vessel in the body.
Minor Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI such as an accident or sharp blow to the head and even Shaking Baby Syndrome can produce similar damage to the brain as that caused by weakened blood vessel walls or by blockages.
Orthodox medical response to stroke revolves nowadays around a speedy response and treatment with oxygen therapy to reduce the secondary damage, blood thinners of various sorts to minimize clotting and reduce the effect of blockages and physiotherapy to re-educate the brain and nervous system and to transfer control of affected systems to healthy parts of the brain.
Herbal medicine offers recovery support to assist minimizing the area of brain affected by stroke, strengthening blood vessel walls, improving oxygen supply to the brain generally and supporting the physical recovery of affected systems and atrophied muscles in support of physiotherapy. I offer two support treatments as follows;
The first is a Circulation Protective Mix which will restore the weakened blood vessels in the brain to more normal strength and reduce the chances of reoccurrence of stroke.
This mixture contains concentrated liquid extracts of:- Rue, Elecampane, Equisetum, Ginseng, Parsley and Wheatgrass along with the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy.
The second is a Vitality and Brain Function Tonic which will assist in the brain reprogramming itself to work around missing or damaged centres and at the same time assist in the muscular and nervous system atrophy resulting from the loss of control.
This will assist in the physio-therapeutic exercise recovery program and includes the herbs:- Nettle, Sage, Yarrow, Ginseng, Mugwort and Maritime Pine Bark along with the Bach Flowers White Chestnut, Cerrato, Clematis and Walnut.
The Stroke Recovery mix is given on its own first for a month and then the Brain Function tonic is started as well at a dose rate initially of 5 drops three times daily. This dose is build up gradually to the full 20 drops per dose over a month or six weeks. After this buildup, both these treatments may be given safely and together, at a dose level of 20 drops three times daily.
After a month or so I would like some detailed feedback in order to refine the mixes or dose levels in line with the progress experienced and at this stage it would be wise to submit your full medical history through my Online Consultation Service.