Cold and abrupt weather changes, as they were announced this weekendplace considerable strain on the body and the cardiovascular system. Therefore increases in winter the risk of strokes. So-called “silent strokes” are particularly risky. They come without a warning siren. Those affected do not experience typical warning signs such as paralysis or speech disorders – some even sleep through the cerebral infarction.

This makes it a creeping danger: with every unnoticed and therefore untreated heart attack, the brain suffers a little more damage. In the long term, this can lead to changes in behavior, mood, ability to move and thinking skills.

These symptoms may indicate a silent stroke

Silent strokes often go unnoticed because they occur either in smaller blood vessels or in areas of the brain that do not directly control functions such as movement or speech. Or because the symptoms only appear temporarily while you sleep and are gone in the morning.

However, a silent stroke is not completely symptom-free. At

• minor visual disturbances, such as sudden color changes, flashes of light or dark spots,
• mild motor disorders,
• general weakness
• and suddenly impaired cognitive functions,

it’s worth taking a closer look. Although these symptoms are often noticed, they are downplayed or not attributed to a stroke.

Silent strokes leave long-term damage to the brain

Those affected often only become suspicious when several heart attacks have occurred and have already caused serious damage to the brain. Signs include:

• Balance problems and unsteady, stiff or slow walking
• Confusion
• Concentration and memory difficulties
• Difficulty making decisions
• Sudden mood changes such as anger or sadness
• Headache

Many patients do not even notice these long-term changes as symptoms. The previous infarctions are therefore often only noticed during routine examinations or due to other problems during CT or MRI examinations. Then clear scars appear in the brain tissue.

At that point at the latest, there is a need for action, advises neurologist Christian Nolte. “Apparently healthy people who are found to have hidden strokes have a 1.5-fold to 2.5-fold increased risk of open strokes and a 4-fold increased risk of developing dementia,” he says interview with the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where he heads the specialist stroke ward. An “open” stroke means an infarction that is immediately noticeable. About with

• extreme and sudden headaches,
• Speech, vision and consciousness disorders
• and symptoms of paralysis and numbness.

A silent stroke is therefore much more than just a warning sign.

“Stroke weather” really does exist – 3 degrees makes the difference

The risk of strokes is currently particularly high. Because cold weather has a direct effect on the blood vessels. In order to withstand the falling temperatures and to store as much heat as possible in the body, they contract. But this also causes blood pressure to rise and the heart begins to beat irregularly. The risk of stroke increases.

Dehydration can also be an important factor. Since many people drink less in the winter, they unconsciously contribute to thickening their blood. This increases the likelihood of blood clots forming, which can block blood vessels supplying the brain.

Researchers from Germany have in one study even found out that there is a real “stroke weather”. Neurologist Florian Rakers from Jena University Hospital and his team noticed that strokes increase particularly frequently in winter. They examined the phenomenon in over 1,600 patients and found: Rapid changes in

• Temperature,
• humidity
• and air pressure

increase the likelihood of a stroke.

If the temperature drops within 24 hours, the risk of stroke increases by around eleven percent for every three degrees. The increased risk lasted until about two days after the weather change.

The risk of stroke increases in winter, especially for high-risk patients

“In high-risk patients, the likelihood of a stroke can sometimes quadruple when the weather changes. Patients with diabetes or hardening of the arteries in particular react particularly sensitively,” emphasizes Rakers.

Especially when the weather changes, high-risk patients should keep an eye on the warning signs of a stroke. These include loud German Stroke Help for example

• Patients with atrial fibrillation – a specific type of cardiac arrhythmia
• smokers
• People over 60 years old
• People who are overweight and sedentary

These “classic” stroke risks also apply to silent cerebral infarctions, emphasizes Nolte: “Groups of people with hidden strokes are very, very similar to those with open strokes.” In addition, they would observe many silent strokes after medical procedures on the heart, such as heart valve replacement.