Four Types Of Stroke

STROKE
By: Courtney Evans

WHAT IS A STROKE?


A stroke occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and food.

AREAS AFFECTED


Depending on the type of stroke, different areas of the brain will be affected, but generally speaking if the frontal lobe is affected ones motor skills, higher processing, speech, and planning will be affected. If the parietal lobe is affected ones association areas and attention areas will be affected. If the occipital lobe is affected ones vision would be affected. If the temporal lobe was affected ones memory and emotions would be affected as well.

TYPES OF STROKE


There are four different types of stroke,
 The

first is a TIA of “Mini
Stroke”. A TIA is a recurrent episode of neurological deficit, lasting from seconds to hours, with symptoms that clear within 12 to 24 hours.
TIA should not be taken lightly as they are usually a warning sign for a thrombotic cerebrovascular accident as 1/3 of people who suffer from a TIA later have a
stroke.
A TIA will produce stroke like symptoms but will not cause any lasting damage.
 The second is a Thrombotic. It is the most common in middle aged and elderly people. This type of stroke results from an obstruction of in the extra cerebral vessels, but it can be intracerebral. This type of stroke allots for 87% of stroke patients.

TYPES CONTINUED…
 The

third type is an Embolic stroke and it is the second most common type of stroke, and also the second most severe type. This type of stroke is the result of an occlusion of a blood vessel which can result from a fragmented clot, a tumor, fat, bacteria, or air. This stroke is not limited to any particular age group.
 The third type of stroke is a Hemorrhagic and it is also the most severe type, but luckily it is the type that least occurs. It can be caused from hypertension, or aneurysms, which cause a sudden rupture of a cerebral artery. This type of stroke can also occur at any age.

WITH STROKE, THERE ARE RISK
FACTORS THAT CAN BE CONTROLLED
AND TREATED AND THOSE THAT CAN’T.
Risk Factors that can’t be controlled or
treated:

in age
Male gender
Family History of stroke Race
Prior Stroke or heart attack

Risk Factors that can be controlled or treated:

Increase

Hypertension




Cigarette smoking
Diabetes Mellitus



Carotid or other artery diseases





Blood disorders (Sickle cell anemia) 




TIA’s

Increased serum cholesterol
Physical inactivity and obesity


Excessive alcohol intake



Drug abuse

Acute infection

WARNING SIGNS
 There

are many warning signs of stroke, these include:
 Sudden

numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
 Sudden confusion
 Trouble speaking or understanding communication
 Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
 Sudden trouble walking
 Dizziness
 Loss of balance or coordination
 A severe headache with no known cause
 Dysphasia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia

WARNING SIGNS CONTINUED…
 Visual

field cuts
 Paralysis
 Sensory changes
 Incontinence
 Poor Coordination
 Drooping on one side of the face
 Not being able to smile and show ones teeth
 Personality changes
There are many more signs, but these are just the most noticeable.

TREATMENT
The most common treatment for Stroke is tPA, which is tissue plasma antigen or a “clot buster”.
 This should be administered within three hours of the patient “last seen normal”
 tPA is strongly time dependant.
 tPA does have some setbacks, like the fact that most patients do not seek medical attention within the three hour time frame.
 Also, according to the NINDS bleeding into the brain occurred in about 1/18 or 5.8% of patients, when this occurred there was also a 45% fatality rate. They also found that treatment with clot busters can sometimes increase the chance of death following a stroke, and that when tPA was used more liberally, it resulted in a higher rate of intracranial hemorrhage.


TREATMENT
There are also anticonvulsants, such as Phenytoin or Phenobarbital, which reduce the likely hood of onset seizures.
 Stool softeners are sometimes administered to monitor intracranial pressure by preventing straining.  Corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone, can be administered to reduce the risk of thrombotic stroke.  In some cases analgesics, such as codeine, will be administered to relieve a headache that may follow a hemorrhagic stroke.


RECOVERY
General recovery guidelines show that ten percent of stroke survivors recover almost completely.
25% recover with minor impairments, 40% experience moderate to severe impairments requiring special care, 10% require care in a nursing home or other long-term care facility, and
15 % die shortly after the stroke.
 Recovery assistance includes speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.


WORKS CITED
McCann, Judith. Pathophysiology Made
Incredibly Easy. 2nd edition. Springhouse, PA.
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 2002.
 Mayo Clinic Staff. Stroke. www.mayoclinic.com/health/stroke/DS00150. Web. 2012.
