What is a stroke?

Your brain is a very important organ. It’s like the command center for the rest of your body. It helps you process information, organize thoughts, control your movements, communicate with others and do a thousand other tasks. The brain works really hard! As a result, it needs plenty of fresh blood and oxygen to keep things moving along smoothly.

Sometimes, though—if the blood flow is blocked for some reason—the brain can get into trouble.

A stroke is what happens when a brain doesn’t get the blood that it needs. When brain cells don’t get enough oxygen from the blood, they start to die off. Some strokes are very small, almost unnoticeable. But big strokes can hurt a person very badly, or even kill them.

If someone lives through a stroke, they might have a hard time doing lots of the things they used to do. Walking, talking, picking things up—these are all activities that are controlled by the brain. If these parts of the brain are hurt in a stroke, a person will have to relearn how to do them. This can be very frustrating for the person who had the stroke, as well as for the people who love them.

Strokes usually happen to older grownups. Very rarely do kids get strokes. Still, there are lots of things you can do now to prevent strokes later in life:

-Don’t smoke!

-Eat your fruits and veggies!

-Exercise and play!

By doing these things, you can reduce the chances that you will have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or diabetes—all problems that contribute to stroke risk.

Do you remember how hard it was to learn to read or to ride a bicycle? Can you imagine how frustrated you would be if one day your brain forgot how to do those things, and you had to start over from scratch? Sometimes, that’s a lot like what happens to people who have had strokes. If the wrong part of their brain was hurt, it may mean they have to relearn to walk, talk and do lots of other things we take for granted. This can be confusing and a little scary to the people who love them. If you know someone who has had a stroke, talk to a grown up about your questions and feelings. Stroke recovery can take a long time, so it helps to share the process with the people around you.