Stroke And Balance

     The most common causes of strokes are thrombosis. This is when a clot forms in one of the arteries, mostly in the carotid in the neck and the vertebral artery. The blood is thick and moves very slowly through the artery. The thrombus will form on the damaged area of the artery wall and will cut off the flow of blood to the brain. The area of the artery that is damaged is cause by arteriosclerosis. This form of

There are two major branches of strokes: those caused by narrowing or blockage of the arteries leading towards the brain, and those caused by blood vessel leaking or rupturing in the brain. Ischemic strokes account for approximately 87% of Stroke cases, which reduces the blood flow to the brain. About half of the Ischemic strokes are caused by clotting in small or large arteries, a smaller portion are caused by

Ischemic stroke is the blockage of blood vessels in the brain as a result of blood clots (thrombi), causing the portions of the brain nourished by the vessel and its tributaries to be starved of nutrients, poisoned, and to eventually die (“Symptoms

A stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease that affects the cerebral arteries, those blood vessels that carry blood to the brain. A stroke occurs when one of those blood vessels in the brain is obstructed or ruptures flooding the brain with blood. Depriving blood and oxygen to the brain results in those immediate cells death, causing the brain not to function properly. Once parts of the brain stop functioning, it can directly affect the areas of the body controlled (1).

Strokes are caused by pathophysiological changes. The two major mechanisms of stroke consist of ischemia and haemorrhage. Ischemia is when there is no oxygen or not, merely enough oxygen to fuel the tissue level in the body. Haemorrhage in the brain, causing strokes can be due to non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage (Shah, MD, n.d.) (see appendix 1). This essay will further discuss the implications of strokes on a cellular, organ and system level. Explain the clinical presentation of the signs and symptoms of strokes and how the condition will be managed by a paramedic.

Strokes are known as the leading cause of acquired disability in adults where between 20-30% are left unable to walk, and leaving those who are able to walk, with a moderate to severe walking disability (Maguire et al., 2012). This disability results in a huge socioeconomic impact on the patients and their families lives. In order to improve their quality of life, an improvement in balance is the important first step in which is crucial to enable more independent movement, for example walking.

Cerebrovascular accidents, or strokes, will lead to brain damage that affects the functioning of executive function, memory, language, visuospatial performance and emotional states. Corresponding vertebral arteries and carotid arteries provide blood to the brain from the heart that the carotid arteries are internal and external sections of the thyroid cartilage. Where the optic nerve rests the internal artery distributes into the anterior and middle cerebral arteries. The vertebral arteries arise through the spinal vertebrae and meet the lower pons to form the basilar artery. The brain receives 15% to 20% of the oxygenated blood from the heart and can only endure fleeting interruptions of blood flow before neural operations

stroke is an acute episode of focal dysfunction of the brain, retina, or spinal cord lasting longer than 24 h, or of any duration if imaging (CT or MRI) or autopsy show focal infarction or haemorrhage relevant to the symptoms ,which is a leading cause of death and long term disability worldwide. It results from transient or permanent disruption of cerebral blood flow, leading to necrotic death of the brain tissue supplied by the affected artery. It activates an inflammatory condition in the affected area, marked by infiltration of inflammatory cells. Inflammation can induce an apoptotic cell death in the transition region between necrotic and normal tissue, so called penumbra, for a fairly prolonged period of time.[1].

Correspondingly, there are two pathways that transports blood to the brain called internal carotid artery and vertebral artery. The internal carotid artery has three layers call the tunica adventitia, tunica media, and tunica intima. Tunica intima is made up of smooth muscle cells and elastin. The basilar artery forms and it branches out to the posterior cerebral arteries. The posterior cerebral arteries form the internal carotid arteries and when they connect they make cerebral arterial circle ( circle of willis). The middle cerebral arteries branch out two separate arteries called the anterior cerebral arteries. Each of these arteries are the force that direct the blood flow to the brain. There are three tiny vascular systems that work together to profuse the deep brain. Which are the pial, subependymal, and lenticulostriate arteries. The small area of white matter that depends on blood flow is called the subcortical “shed water” area. The subcortical is more prone than other areas of the brain to have ischemia. The leading cause of ischemia is the fibrin builds up and this cause a narrowing of the lumen. Which does not allow the flow of red blood cells and deprives the white matter of tissue of oxygen. The tissue then losses density and produces white matter lesions. The neurons become demyelinated which leads to loss of cognitive ability.

Stroke also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA), cerebrovascular insult (CVI), or a brain attack. A brain attack is the loss of brain function by the cause of disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This disturbance occurs due to either one of two causes which are ischemia (lack of blood flow) or a hemorrhage (high increase of blood flow directly into brain; parenchyma or into the subarachnoid space which surrounds the brain with tissue). Ischemia is a formation by a blood clot that is inside of a blood vessel located in the circulatory system called thrombosis or arterial embolism; which is a rapid interruption in the supply of blood flow to an organ or body part due to a clogged artery blocking the blood flow. Thrombosis is a

The participants were 106 with chronic stroke: 25 with a history of falling in the last year and 81 without a history of falling. To assess validity, participants in the stroke group and 48 healthy subjects performed the Mini-BESTest as well as four balance measures (BBS, One Leg Stand, Functional Reach Test and Timed Up and Go Test). The Mini-BESTest was repeated again for the 30 participants after 10 days in order to determine its reliability. The results showed a close relationship between scores on the Mini-BESTest and the other outcome measures. The Mini-BESTest was able to detect the difference between the fallers and non-fallers groups. More importantly the Mini-BESTest showed less floor and ceiling effect than the BBS (Tsang et al.,

Cerebral Vascular Accident also known as a stroke, happens when the artery that supplies the blood flow to your brain becomes substantially blocked or completely blocked ("Overview - Stroke - Mayo Clinic," 2015). Without adequate blood supply the brain cells begin to die or become damaged. It is very important to get medical assistance as soon as you think you may be having a stroke, this will help lessen the damage done to the brain ("Overview - Stroke - Mayo Clinic," 2015).

Sometimes known as a brain attack, a stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain stops. Brain cells immediately start to die due to the lack of oxygen and nutrients they need to function. There are two types of strokes. The most common type, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind of stroke, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death for Americans ("What You Need to Know About Stroke," 2013). In fact, according to the CDC, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke every year ("Stroke Facts," 2015). A stroke can cause great damage in the brain and lead to mild or severe

Impairments can contribute to an increased risk of falls at all stages following a stroke.2,5 As a result of these impairments, stroke has been classified as the most disabling chronic disease, with about 80% of individuals falling within the first three months from loss of balance when walking.2,5 In addition, approximately 70% of individuals who have had a stroke experience ongoing difficulty with ambulation within the first year.2 One research study revealed that patients post stroke have fall rates that range from 3.8 to 22%, and the incidence of falls range from 1.3 to 6.5 times in the year after the stroke.1 Furthermore, stroke has been identified as the primary cause of disability in the United States and the third leading cause of death in people over the age of

Intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke occurs when vessels within the brain leaks blood into the brain itself. It often happens without warning. This type of stroke represents about 10% of all strokes. The most common cause is uncontrolled high blood pressure or (Hypertension.) Hypertension can cause small arteries inside the brain to become brittle and susceptible to cracking and rupture. Less often it may result from a blood vessel defect present since birth.