Stroke

Cerebral vascular accident or a stroke is the destruction of brain substance, resulting from thrombosis, intracranial hemorrhage, or embolism, which causes vascular insufficiency. In addition, it is an area of the brain denied blood and oxygen that is required and damage is done to a part of the cells. The effect of the patient depends upon where the damage occurs and the severity of the stroke.

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 the 5th leading cause of death in the US, with one person dying every 4 minutes as a result. For African Americans, stoke is the 3rd leading cause of death.(http://www.cdc.gov/stroke/facts.htm) It is estimated that About 795,000 people have a stroke each year; about one every 40 seconds - there are many medical conditions that can cause a stroke and it is estimated that 8 out of 10 strokes can be prevented. However, there are some things that cannot be controlled when you are predisposed to

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is blocked. The tissue does not get enough of oxygen and nutrients within minutes, the brain cells begin to die. A stroke is a medical emergency, and prompt treatment is crucial. The good news is a stroke can be treatable and is more preventable. More people live longer now than in the past years. Stroke is known as the silent killer. Many people ignore the symptoms and cause more damage to their body. People with stroke have trouble speaking and understanding, paralysis or numbness of the face arm or leg. If you ever encounter anyone with these systems, please call 911 imminently for help.

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.

Often times, doctors will typically call a stroke a “brain attack” because the events that transpire resemble those that occur during a heart attack (Wang and Aamodt, 2010). Blood supplies a constant source of oxygen to the brain. However, a stroke occurs when that blood supply to any given part of the brain is suddenly ceased. If the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted this leads to the deprivation of oxygen and glucose to that area. The brain cells that are prevented from acquiring these substances, especially oxygen, will be quickly killed off. Strokes can be categorized into two classes: Ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes (Lindley, 2008).

A stroke is a sudden stop in brain function. Approximately 25% of all people who get a stroke will have another in about five years time. The symptoms that occur are mainly affecting the nervous and digestive system, however, they may also have an effect on the other systems. Having a stroke will indeed affect the body’s functions extremely negatively. Affecting many parts of the body, strokes are devastating to the human race, killing many. The types of strokes, symptoms, and predictably will be covered.

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

Signs of a stroke are blurred vision or most commonly blurred speech. One could lose their balance or unable to walk. Most strokes are caused by a blood clot in the brain.

Stroke previously known as Cerebrovascular accident is well-defined as ‘an abrupt cessation of cerebral circulation in one or more of the blood vessels distributing the brain. Due to the interruption or diminish of oxygen supply causes serious damage or necrosis in the brain tissues (Jauch, Kissella & Stettler, 2005). There is a presence of one or more symptoms such as weakness or numbness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg, difficulty speaking or swallowing, dizziness, loss of balance, loss of vision, sudden blurring or decreased vision in one or both eyes and headache. Stoke is categorised into two types, Ischaemic and haemorrhagic

The initial signs of acute stroke on nonenhanced CT are subtle but signs that may be visible would include: loss of distinction between white and grey mater, hypodensities in the brain parenchyma, loss of appearance of sulcal markings on surface of the brain and obscured delineation of basel ganglia. The presence of hyerdensity in a main artery may imply thrombus in a main cerebral artery. In the absence of contrast this sign has a high specificity but a low sensitivity for middle cerebral artery occlusion. Overall a nonenhanced CT brain in acute stroke has a sensitivity as low as 26%.

A cerebrovascular accident more commonly known as a stroke or brain attack is the term used to describe the sudden death of brain cells in a localized area due to inadequate blood flow. In order to woke the brain needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients. This supply is carried to the brain

Haemorrhagic strokes are caused by subarachnoid haemorrhage or intracerebralhaemorrhage [4]. It is difficult to be sure clinically about the type of stroke in majority of cases as there is no specific differentiating feature[5]. The only confirmatory test is computed tomography (CT) of brain. However, some features like sudden onset of coma or changing state of consciousness with severe headache, vomiting and meningeal irritation suggest intracranial bleed. Similarly in cerebral infarction patient usually presents with sudden onset of stroke with lateralizing neurological deficit with or without clinically detectable risk factors(hypertension, atrial fibrillation, rheumatic heart disease, recent myocardial

As defined by Lemone, et al (2014) stroke is a disorder that occurs when there is abrupt diminution in blood flow to a localized area of the brain bringing about neurological deficits. Stroke can be classified into two types: ischaemic, caused by either

Stroke refers to a cerebro vascular accident which causes CNS infarction. “A CNS infarction is brain, spinal cord, or retinal cell death attributable to ischemia, based on (A) Pathological imaging, or other objective evidence of cerebral, spinal cord or retinal focal ischemic injury in a defined vascular