After being hospitalised for suffering a brain stroke, Bengali actor Aindrila Sharma suffered from multiple heart attacks on Tuesday, suggests latest reports. She was given Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). She is currently on ventilator support and her condition is quite fragile.

Reports suggest that every three people in India suffer a brain stroke every minute. The warning signs of a stroke can be obvious and can be prevented 80 percent of the time. 

What is a brain stroke?

Brain stroke is triggered by a blockage in blood circulation in the brain or by a break and leak in the blood vessel. The burst or blockage stops the blood and oxygen from reaching the brain tissue. Without oxygen, the tissues and cells in the brain are damaged.

Types of brain stroke:

Ischemic stroke

Contributes to 80 percent of brain strokes

Can be either thrombotic, the formation of a blood clot inside a damaged artery resulting from atherosclerosis or embolic, caused when a clot or small piece of plague formed in one artery leading to the brain or in the heart, is pushed through the bloodstream and lodges in narrower brain arteries. 

Haemorrhagic stroke

It is caused by intracerebral haemorrhage or Subarachnoid haemorrhage. 

Symptoms of brain stroke: 

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion
• Trouble speaking
• Difficulty understanding speech
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness
• Loss of balance or lack of coordination
• Sudden severe headache with vomiting or unconsciousness.