Can the intestines also have a stroke? What are the signs of an acute attack?

When we talk about stroke, we usually think of brain stroke, but few people know that our intestines can also "stroke ". It is reported that Mr. Liu was hospitalized for liver cirrhosis this year. Two days before he was discharged from the hospital, he vaguely felt uncomfortable in his stomach, but there was nothing abnormal after examination. Two days later, Mr. Liu had unbearable abdominal pain. After the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, he was diagnosed with intestinal stroke.

Source: Hubei Daily

Although intestinal stroke is not a common disease, it is still seen from time to time in clinical practice. You may be curious about why the intestines may have a stroke for no reason.

1

What exactly is “intestinal stroke”?

Let's first understand what a stroke is. The so-called "stroke" refers to ischemia caused by bleeding or blockage of blood vessels in a certain part of the human body. In reality, stroke not only occurs in the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system, but also in other parts of the human body such as the heart and eyes. This is because hemorrhage or embolism can occur in various parts of the body. If it occurs in the eyes, it is an "ocular stroke", and if it manifests in the intestines, it is an "intestinal stroke".

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"Intestinal stroke" is also known as ischemic colitis, which means that the blood supply to the intestine is insufficient, resulting in poor blood circulation and a sharp decrease in intestinal blood supply, which eventually causes congestion, edema, necrosis or bleeding of the intestinal mucosa.

Source: Screenshot from Beijing TV

Intestinal stroke usually occurs suddenly and progresses rapidly. In severe cases, it may cause complications such as ischemic shock and peritonitis. If it is not treated in time, it may cause intestinal wall infarction or even intestinal perforation. In this case, the mortality rate is as high as 60%.

2

Symptoms of "intestinal stroke"

"Intestinal stroke" is more common in middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 and above, and most patients have a history of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Therefore, such patients need to be extra careful in their daily lives.

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Even without these medical histories, people may occasionally experience spasms due to overwork, strenuous exercise, or mood swings, which can cause severe intestinal ischemia and lead to intestinal stroke. Therefore, we should pay more attention to taking care of our bodies in our daily lives, which can greatly reduce the possibility of intestinal stroke.

There are usually some signs before a "bowel stroke" occurs, but it is not easy to attract people's attention. For example, there is often a feeling of fullness that lasts for several hours after a meal, and stomach discomfort after eating greasy food or a full meal. These conditions sometimes recur repeatedly, and the symptoms may last for several months or even longer. This is a warning of the onset of bowel stroke. Going to the hospital for a check-up in advance, listening to the doctor's advice, and cooperating with the doctor's treatment plan can largely avoid the onset of the disease.

Source: pixabay

3

Symptoms and treatment of "intestinal stroke"

The typical symptoms of "intestinal stroke" are severe abdominal pain and blood in the stool. When an intestinal stroke occurs, the patient will feel acute abdominal cramps, as if the intestines are tightly grasped and twisted with force, and the pain comes in waves, and blood in the stool appears.

Source: hippopx

In the early stage of intestinal stroke, symptoms such as nausea and vomiting may occur, and in the late stage, there will be symptoms of incomplete intestinal obstruction: such as abdominal pain, bloating, and hyperactive bowel sounds. This phenomenon can sometimes be relieved by itself, but sometimes it will recur. There is no fixed location for intestinal stroke, and it may be anywhere in the abdominal cavity. If there is tenderness in the abdomen (pain caused by pressing down hard), rebound pain (pressing the deep abdomen with 3 to 4 fingers together, and then suddenly releasing the pressing area, the patient feels a cramping pain) or abdominal muscle tension, intestinal necrosis or peritonitis may have occurred.

Source: pixabay

Eating during intestinal stroke will aggravate abdominal pain, so patients should not be allowed to eat blindly. If they are not sent to the hospital for treatment in time, it may lead to acute intestinal necrosis, which may even threaten life safety in severe cases.

Therefore, when the above situation occurs, you must seek medical treatment in time and receive timely diagnosis and treatment. It is worth mentioning that common diseases such as gastric ulcers, cholecystitis, enteritis, etc. will also cause abdominal pain symptoms, which are particularly easy to be confused with intestinal stroke, but you still need to pay enough attention to it and not be careless. If middle-aged and elderly people with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases experience abdominal pain symptoms, they must be vigilant and go to a nearby hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time. They must not delay the condition and miss the best time for treatment.

"Intestinal stroke" is not incurable. As long as the disease is discovered early and combined with conservative treatments such as hemostasis, blood circulation and spasm relief, good results will be achieved. However, the most important thing is timely discovery and early treatment. The earlier the treatment time, the higher the recovery rate. According to statistics, if the patient's symptoms last for less than 12 hours, the intestinal recovery survival rate is 100%; 12 to 24 hours, it drops to 56%; for more than 24 hours, only 18% can survive.

If treatment is delayed, it may lead to intestinal necrosis, the intestines will turn black, and the patient will be in a state of shock. At this time, drug treatment is basically ineffective, and surgery can only be performed to remove the necrotic intestine. In severe cases, the entire small intestine or even part of the colon needs to be removed, which will lead to short bowel syndrome. After that, the patient can only rely on parenteral nutrition to survive, which will bring huge mental pressure and financial burden to the patient's family.

Source: hippopx

4

Prevention of “intestinal stroke”

Intestinal stroke is so terrible, so how should we prevent it?

First of all, we should pay attention to a reasonable diet. We should eat a light diet and a reasonable combination of meat and vegetables on weekdays; protect blood vessels and eat less animal fat and animal offal. Drink more light tea, because the tea polyphenols in light tea can effectively prevent the rupture and bleeding of microvascular walls, can effectively reduce the body's cholesterol, and have a good effect on inhibiting atherosclerosis.

You can also eat more garlic, which has antioxidant properties similar to vitamin E and vitamin C, so garlic is good for preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease. Refuse to overeat, quit smoking and drink less, maintain a regular diet, and eat three meals a day on time.

Source: unsplash

Secondly, we should strengthen the awareness of prevention of intestinal stroke. We should not only understand and know about intestinal stroke, but also consciously prevent it. If you often feel abdominal distension and discomfort after meals recently, and taking digestive medicine still has no effect, and the symptoms recur repeatedly, you should go to the hospital for examination in time. Middle-aged and elderly people should check blood lipid composition and blood rheology regularly to find abnormalities in their bodies in time. If you find that your heartbeat is too fast, take heart disease drugs immediately to reduce the risk of blood clots falling off. For elderly women who suffer from pregnancy-induced hypertension, they should pay special attention to healthy diet and avoid consuming large amounts of high-fat and high-sugar foods. You should also move your body more often to promote blood circulation and prevent blood embolism.

Secondly, it is to prevent and treat constipation and cough. Because these two symptoms can easily increase abdominal pressure, causing blood clots to fall off and block blood vessels, resulting in intestinal stroke. Therefore, middle-aged and elderly people who usually suffer from high blood pressure, high blood lipids and other diseases, if they have abdominal pain, dizziness, pale face and other symptoms after severe coughing or defecation, they may have intestinal stroke and should go to a nearby hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible. In order to prevent constipation and cough, middle-aged and elderly people should drink more water and eat vegetables or whole grains containing crude fiber.

You can also massage your abdomen more often to promote intestinal peristalsis. If necessary, you can use some medicine to assist defecation. At the same time, you should also pay attention to the prevention and treatment of colds, bronchitis, etc. Take cold prevention measures and eat more foods rich in vitamin C, such as lemons and green vegetables, to prevent colds. Reduce the possibility of coughing and prevent increased intra-abdominal pressure from causing intestinal stroke.

Source: pexels

Finally, intestinal stroke is largely caused by poor blood circulation. The effective way to improve it is to rub the abdomen. Persistent rubbing the abdomen can dredge the intestinal blood vessels and improve intestinal blood supply. Friends who need this can go to the hospital to consult a doctor about the correct way to rub the abdomen to prevent intestinal stroke.

Although intestinal stroke sounds scary, as long as you follow scientific prevention and treatment methods, pay more attention to your physical condition in daily life, maintain a healthy and stable mood, seek medical attention early when the disease occurs, and follow the doctor's advice, you still have a chance of recovery and don't need to worry too much.