Medical Conditions Related to Brain Injury
Stroke
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What is a Stroke?
A stroke (cerebrovascular accident or CVA) is the damage to a part of the brain when its blood supply is suddenly cut off.
How do you get a Stroke?
Brain blood flow can be interrupted in two ways:
- By blockage of an artery (blood vessel) to part of the brain. This is usually due to a blood clot forming inside an artery on the surface of a fatty deposit that has built up over time. It can also be due to a wandering clot moving to block an artery supplying part of the brain.
- By rupture of an artery inside the brain. This results in bleeding and not enough blood reaching parts of the brain. It usually happens when high blood pressure has not been detected or treated.
- Several risk factors have been identified, which when present can mean a person is more likely to get a stroke than if these factors were absent. Such factors include high blood pressure that isn’t treated, diabetes, smoking, a family history of stroke, hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) and an abnormal heart rhythm.
What are the warning signs of a stroke?
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
How long does a Stroke last?
This is a difficult question because although the initial event may last a few hours or even minutes, the immediate consequences are seen over the next few days. Some of the disability experienced by those patients who survive a stroke will be long lasting and, for some, will probably be present for the rest of their life.
How is a Stroke treated?
A physical and neurological exam are performed to confirm a stroke. Imaging tests such as CT, MRI and MRA scans may be used to identify injury or to determine the appropriate therapy. Medications, such as tPA, may be administered within 3 hours of the onset of stroke in carefully selected patients, can improve the patient outcomes.
- In the short term, some medicines may be used to try to limit the damage caused by the stroke.
- When it is certain that a burst blood vessel is not the cause of the stroke, medicines to prevent further blood clots might be used, such as aspirin or stronger blood thinners.
- Sometimes surgery might be recommended in some patients to repair a burst or torn blood vessel, and very occasionally, is used to remove blockages in larger arteries.
It can take weeks to assess the full damage caused by a stroke. The degree of disability varies greatly from one person to another, and so does recovery. Some people recover with little or no lasting effects. Others incur permanent disability.
Because brain tissue does not heal, rehabilitation is used to train other parts of the brain to take over for the damaged area. This can be a slow process. Rehabilitation is essential to help stroke patients return to independent living whenever possible and to improve the lives of those who are disabled. Most survivors undertake a comprehensive range of care, including physical, occupational and speech therapy. Following this, the main aim of treatment is to prevent another stroke from happening.
What are the after effects of Stroke?
Survivors of stroke can experience a number of conditions depending on the area of the brain that was affected and the extent of the damage. Some of these conditions are:
- Weakness or paralysis of one side of the body
- Partial or complete loss of voluntary movement and/or feelings in a leg and/or arm
- Speech problems and weak muscles of the face, which can cause drooling. Numbness or tingling is very common.
- Thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory problems
- Survivors of stroke may have difficulty controlling their emotions or may express inappropriate emotions.
- A stroke involving the base of the brain can affect balance, vision, and swallowing functions.
- A stroke can cause difficulty in breathing.
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