What is Stroke?
Stroke
refers to a brain disease caused by either blockage of blood supply or
rupture of a blood vessel to a particular part of the brain. This
results in reduction of blood and oxygen supply to the affected part of
brain resulting in loss of function
A Stroke can be categorized into two types:
- Hemorrhagic Strokes: This type of stroke occurs when a
blood vessel bleeds and burst within the brain. This accumulated blood
compresses the nearby tissues of the brain. This could be due to:
- A blood vessel on the brain surface starts bleeding in between the area of the skull and the brain.
- A blood vessel bleeding or bursting inside the brain
- Hemorrhagic strokes has two main types:
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage: In this, there is bleeding in between the area of the brain and the thin tissues covering the brain.
- Intracerebral hemorrhage: This is considered as the most common type of hemorrhagic strokes. This occurs when an artery bursts inside the brain and resulting in the flooding of the nearby blood tissues.
- Ischemic Stroke: This occurs when something is causing blockage in an artery which is carrying blood to the brain. The potential causes are:
- When there is a blockage in the small blood vessels within the brain
- When a blood clot develops in the main artery to the brain
- When an air bubble, a blood clot or fat globule develops in a blood vessel which is carried to the brain.
- There are two common types of Ischemic stroke:
- Embolic Stroke: This stroke occurs when other debris or a blood clot develops away from the brain. This mostly happens in the heart and is swept from the bloodstream into the narrow brain arteries. This kind of blood clot is known as an embolus.
- Thrombotic Stroke: This occurs when thrombus (a blood clot) develops in one of the arteries which supply blood to the brain. This clot may be due to the accumulation of plague (fatty deposits) in the arteries that causes decreased blood flow.
When there is
temporary blockage in the blood supply to the brain and there is a
feeling of stroke for a little time. This entire process is termed as
mini stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). A mini stroke is an
indication that a part of the brain is not getting sufficient blood and
this can result into a severe stroke in the future.
Causes
Some of the causes that can lead to a stroke are as follows:
- Ageing
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular diseases
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Excessive alcohol and drug abuse
Symptoms
Symptoms of a stroke occur suddenly. Symptoms vary depending on the
location of the stroke. Each area of the brain is supplied by specific
arteries. If an artery supplying the area of the brain that controls the
left arm movements is blocked, that arm becomes weak or paralyzed.
The five most common signs and symptoms of stroke are:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg - like weakness of half of the body called as hemiplegia.
- Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding others called aphasia in medical terms.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes called as mono or binocular vision disturbance. This could be due a stroke anywhere in the visual pathway.
- Sudden dizziness, trouble walking, or loss of balance or coordination, this is commonly due to posterior circulation strokes.
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause is due to hemorrhage or sometimes infarction.
Diagnosis
The
diagnosis is based on the symptoms and a good history given by the
patient or an observer. Usually any neurologic symptom occurring
suddenly in a neurovascular territory is attributed to a stroke. CT scan
done immediately after a stroke is almost always normal in ischemic
strokes. MRI with diffusion images is sensitive to diagnose acute
infarction.
Treatment of a Stroke
The treatment for both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke is different.
The
purpose of treating ischemic stroke is to restore the flow of the blood
in the brain. Medications are given in the first four and a half hours
of the stroke for destroying the clots in the blood vessels. An
injection of tissue plasminogen (TPA) can also be given to a patient for
improving the probability of a full recovery.
The
main purpose of treating a hemorrhagic stroke is to stop bleeding and
decrease the pressure on the brain. Instead of blood thinners, clotting
drugs can be given. After the area has been healed and the bleeding is
controlled, the damaged and leaky blood vessels are then repaired.
The
first stroke device approved by FDA is Merci retriever. The aim of this
device is to restore the flow of the blood in the neurovasculature by
removing thrombus in those patients who have ischemic stroke.
The
penumbra system (endovascular thromboaspiration) is the last FDA
approved device that has been primarily developed for removing a clot in
the case of acute ischemic stroke. In order to eliminate or reduce the
clot burden, this system uses dual approaches to clot extraction by
using debulking and aspiration of the thrombus. Clot retrieval is then
used where a ring device holds the thrombus by capturing it in clasps
with a cylinder. This is then withdrawn at the time of flow arrest. This
new aspiration device (the penumbra system) has an excellent safety
profile and a high rate of ‘target vessel’ recanalization.
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