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Anabolic Strokes

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the term referred to as a “stroke” is defined as a cerebrovascular accident. This occurs when the blood vessel has a disturbance in its normal flow of blood, usually caused by a clot or rupture in the blood vessel. Following this sudden blockage in the arteries, the brain first starts to lose the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and vital components which keep it performing optimally, thus leading to death of brain cells (World Health Organization, 2014). Strokes differ in cause and severity. An ischemic stroke is caused by an artery that is totally blocked meaning the brains blood supply is completely cut off. A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a leaking or ruptured vessel to the brain meaning …show more content…

The majority, 85%, of strokes cause ischemia or lack of oxygen to a body part. In this type of stroke, the arteries to the brain become blocked and decrease the brain’s consumption of oxygen and nutrients. Ischemic attacks can then be broken down further into thrombotic attacks and embolic strokes. Thrombotic strokes occur when residue, such as plaque, builds up in an artery that supplies the brain causing a clot while an embolic stroke occurs when the blood clot is formed elsewhere else in the body, most often in the heart, and moves towards the smaller arteries of the brain. The other form of a cerebrovascular accident is called a hemorrhagic stroke; this happens when there is a weak blood vessel in the brain that ruptures or leaks. These types of strokes are much less common in our population today and can be classified further as to where the ruptures take place, for instance an intercerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage. An intercerebral hemorrhage happens when a blood vessel busts and seeps into the neighboring brain tissue. When a blood vessel of the brain ruptures in the space between the skull and the brain it is called subarachnoid hemorrhage. This type of hemorrhage is associated with vasospasms and causes severe headaches and damage to brain tissues due to limited blood flow (Stroke, …show more content…

If a patient displayed dizziness, difficulty understanding or responding to voice commands, blurry vision, sudden headaches, or droopiness on one side of their face, one is to presume that the patient could be in the beginning stages of having a cerebrovascular accident (Cerebrovascular Accident, 2013). The length and severity of the signs vary from patient to patient but symptoms may appear quickly and unexpected, which is why a health care professional must be trained to act quickly and effectively when an individual exhibits these symptoms. A quick method of assessing whether a patient to suffering from a stroke is to use the FAST method. F: “face drooping”; ask the patient to smile and see if it is uneven or if one side is drooping. A: “arm weakness”; is one arm weaker than the other? S: “speech difficulty”; ask the patient to speak at the best of their abilities and determine whether speech is slurred. T: “time to call 9-1-1”; at this point in the assessment, a higher-level health care provider should be involved (Impact of Stroke,

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