Acute Ischemic Stroke Explained

With Dr. Nick Housley 4th Aug, 21

Transcript

Acute Ischemic Stroke Explained

The acute schematic stroke is more likely to happen, and speed is critical in the case of stroke. An acute ischemic stroke is caused when an artery clot occurs due to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, clotting disorders, heart defects, high cholesterol, etc. However, if immediate medical attention is not provided, it can even result in death.

What are the types of strokes?

There are high-level brain injuries called acquired brain injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, post-surgical tumor resection, strokes, etc. Further, strokes are specifically cerebral vascular accidents. There are two types of stroke: acute ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.

What causes hemorrhagic and acute ischemic strokes?

Fundamentally, both types of strokes result from similar kinds of issues. When the parts of the brain that control various aspects of your movement, sensation, and ability to talk get a lack of blood supply, it causes problems in their working. This results in strokes that cause impairment of those brain cells and affect the ability to move, sense, and speak.

However, the underlying reasons for both strokes are slightly different. Hemorrhagic stroke is caused by brain bleeding, and acute ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage in an artery resulting in reduced blood supply and oxygen to the brain.

For instance, a blockage is like a river being dammed up, and everything downstream of that is not going to have an adequate water supply to make it healthy. On the other hand, bleeding in the brain is similar to when a dam bursts and water starts flowing into other areas, causing a problem that the areas that were supposed to receive water will no longer receive it.

What are the symptoms of acute ischemic stroke?

When you think a person has any symptoms or signs of a stroke, ask them to speak, smile, or raise their arms. And if they cannot speak clearly, one side of their face is drooping, or they cannot raise their arms, do not wait and call immediate medical help. The longer you wait, the greater the damage and disability will be.

What is the basic requirement for recovery after acute ischemic strokes?

When we talk about neuro recovery, the primary thing is to make sure that the patient is hemodynamically and medically stable. You have to make sure that there is no risk of other neurologic disorders, brain bleeds, and additional strokes emerging. Therefore, once you have done that, you can think about how to improve your brain’s ability to function when it comes to moving, living a good life, and experiencing great things.

Conclusion

Hemorrhagic stroke occurs only 15% of the time, while ischemic stroke occurs 85% of the time. Acute ischemic stroke occurs due to the blockage of blood to a part of the brain, but brain cells start dying instantly. Therefore, immediate treatment is critical in surviving this stroke with lesser brain damage. Otherwise, it could cause the death of the patient.


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