Stroke

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

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

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.

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 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.

The three hospitals that I have chosen to compare the condition of strokes to are, INOVA Fairfax Hospital, George Washington University Hospital, and Reston Hospital Center. First of all, a stroke, occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. When this happens, brain cells in the immediate area begin to die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function. There are two major kinds of strokes that I will be comparing among the hospitals. The first one is an ischemic stroke which is caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel or artery in the brain. Then the second is a hemorrhagic stroke which is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. People who suffer from strokes can have serious

In a subarachnoid hemorrhage, bleeding occurs within the space between the brain and the skull. This type of stroke accounts for about 7% of all strokes. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is often signaled by a sudden thunderclap headache thats more severe than any you have ever felt. About half of all people who experience a subarachnoid hemorrhage die. Half of those who survive are left

A stroke materializes when oxygen is unexpectedly cut off from the brain occasioning in brain cells dying. There are two chief kinds of strokes. One is when blood clot befalls and blocks the bloodstream decreasing oxygen flow to the brain i.e. this is called as "ischemic stroke". The other one is the "hemorrhagic stroke"

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 is known as, “the death of nerve cells caused by an interruption of blood flow to a region of the brain,” (Goodenough, 138). When a section of the brain is shut off, neurons cannot receive enough oxygen and glucose that they need and die. The seriousness of the stroke depends on where the interruption of blood flow took place. The destruction of neurons in certain regions of the brain can cause the, “abilities controlled by that area of the brain such as memory and muscle control are lost,” (National Stroke Association). There

In many cases, strokes can be diagnosed, prevented and treatable. Symptoms of a stroke can occur quickly and may cause: sudden numbness, tingling, or weakness, or paralysis in your face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of your body. Sudden: vision changes, trouble speaking (slurred speech), confusion or trouble understanding simple statements, problems with walking or balance, severe headache. It's recommended to call a doctor or 911 even if these symptoms last for a short amount of time because a transient ischemic attack, or mini stroke may have occurred. The transient ischemic attack may be a precursor to a stroke occurring soon. Catching these symptoms can dramatically increase chances of prevention additional damage to the body (2).

     If doctors agree that a stroke has taken place, they may do other tests to determine where the stroke occurred, how large of an area is damaged, and how the blood flow with in the brain has been effected; they do this by taking a CAT scan. They may also take an ECG to determine if there is any heart disease that may have caused the stroke. In addition, they take tests to see if the patient has high blood pressure or they may test the arteries themselves because this is a major cause of stroke in most people. Catheterization, injecting dye into the arteries, and blood tests are the most common tests done. A high glucose level in the blood may reveal diabetes and high blood fats indicate thickened red blood and arteriosclerosis. There may also be a high level of red blood cells, changing the consistency of the blood. These conditions must be treated to prevent further strokes.

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

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

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