Stroke causes neurological and physical disability in people, and the major reason that leads to it are lifestyle diseases. The number of people who suffer from it is increasing globally. Besides, the people who survive it either recover from it fully or end up with some form of psychomotor or motor disability. The latter scenario results in a significant reduction in the quality of life. Most of the conventional treatments focus on reducing the magnitude of the disability. The CBD health benefits make cannabidiol a promising option for stroke recovery; read on to know more about this.
What Is A Stroke?
Before discussing the use of CBD for stroke recovery, let us get a better understanding of stroke. This is a condition that develops when blood flow to any part of the brain is blocked or significantly reduced. As a result, the brain cells and tissues in that region are damaged because they do not get oxygen. The longer this lasts, the greater the damage and vice versa. Moreover, even the magnitude of physical disability is directly proportional to the time elapsed. If not taken care of in time, this can even lead to fatality. However, this can be avoided, or the damage can be reduced if the blood flow is restored as soon as possible.
What Are The Different Types Of Strokes?
There are mainly two types of strokes and they are ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.
Ischemic Stroke
An ischemic stroke happens when the blood flow to brain regions is cut off. It is the most survivable and common form of stroke. This usually happens when the arteries feeding oxygenated blood to the brain gets blocked due to cholesterol deposits or such reasons. As a result, the neurons do not get oxygen, they suffocate, and die. The physical disability due to it depends on the region affected by an ischemic stroke.
Hemorrhagic Stroke
Among the two types of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke is the more serious one. This happens due to the bursting of blood vessels, which is also known as hemorrhage. The blood leaking from the artery causes a clot and damages the neurons in its area of spread. Besides, the degree of damage increases as time elapses, and after a certain point, the damages become irrecoverable. Due to this, time is of the essence in this case.
What Are The Side Effects After Stroke?
The side effects listed below are the most common ones experienced by stroke survivors
- Nerve pain
- Memory loss
- Depression
- Weakness on one side of the body depending on the brain region affected by stroke
- Speaking difficulty
- Difficulty to swallow
- Changes in behavior and other self-care abilities
- Tingling or numbness in limbs
CBD For Stroke
The benefits of CBD make it useful for reducing the severity of side effects after stroke. Apart from this, consuming cannabinol products like CBD oil reduces the risk of another stroke. To get the maximum benefits, you must use medical-grade products with high CBD concentration. Usually, they are made using full-spectrum hemp extracts that contain the full spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids naturally found in the hemp plant. Due to this, they have the added benefit of the entourage effect that enhances the overall effectiveness of CBD oil for treating the side-effects after stroke. Also, ensure that the extract used for making it is sourced from organically cultivated hemp plants free from pesticides.
How CBD Helps Stroke Victims?
Neuron Health
One of the major therapeutic effects of CBD is its neuroprotective effect. The major reason for the side-effects of stroke is because neurons are damaged due to oxygen deprivation. Cannabidiol is useful as it supports and improves calcium ion handling, and this is necessary for sending electrical signals, also known as nerve impulses. Apart from this, CBD also supports the metabolism of neurons that helps them to generate energy.
Reduces Oxidative Damage
As the blood flow to the neurons is stopped, toxic metabolic compounds buildup in 2 to 3 minutes. These are called free radicals, and they are the natural byproduct of our metabolism. They damage cells and tissues because they are unstable, and this is called oxidative damage. The molecules called antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating an electron. Full-spectrum CBD oil has a high concentration of antioxidants, and this protects the neurons from oxidative damage due to toxic buildup.
Improves Cerebral Blood Flow
Ischemic stroke is caused due to reduced blood flow and subsequent damage to neurons. This can be reduced by restoring the blood flow, and CBD oil has the therapeutic effect of improving cerebral blood flow. Apart from cannabidiol, terpenes found in the full-spectrum oil have this effect. Listed below are some of these terpenes.
- Eucalyptol
- Borneol
- Caryophyllene
The other way CBD increases cerebral blood flow is by modulating the behavior of serotonin receptors.
Reduces High Blood Pressure
People suffering from high blood pressure have a higher risk of experiencing a stroke. Consuming full-spectrum CBD oil decreases this risk as it reduces high blood pressure due to its vasodilatory effect.
This is how CBD health benefits are useful for treating the effects after stroke.