What you need to know about Stroke

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures or when there is a blockage of blood flow to the brain. This blockage may interrupt blood flow completely or reduce the supply of blood to the brain.

Another name for a stroke is a Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or brain attack.  

When there is bleeding in the brain, it is referred to as a hemorrhagic stroke. When part of the brain receives limited blood supply, it is known as an Ischemic stroke.

Hyperbaric treatment for stroke is increasingly being adopted to increase oxygen supply to the brain in order to prevent cell death due to limited blood supply.

Symptoms

The symptoms of stroke vary depending on what part iif the brain is affected. Generally, patients may present any or all of these conditions

●Numbness in one part of the body.

●Paralysis or weakness on one part of the body.

●Loss of consciousness and confusion

●Vision loss

●Double vision

●Difficulty in speech comprehension

●Loss of balance and vertigo.

People with hemorrhagic stroke will suffer more from headaches and vomiting.

Causes

●Thrombosis

This causes a thrombotic stroke. It happens when a blood clot lodged in an artery in the brain blocks blood supply to a part of the brain. The brain cells in that part then die and the part of the body it controls stops working.

●Embolism

An embolus stroke happens when a blood clot travels from the heart or a large artery to a small cranial artery and causes a stroke.

●Cerebral Hemorrhage

This happens when a blood vessel ruptures in the brain and can cause a stroke by either limiting blood supply and oxygen to some parts of the brain, or by causing swelling and increasing cranial pressure causing further rupturing of blood vessels.

●Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Blood vessels rupture and the blood accumulates in the space beneath the arachnoid membrane. Subarachnoid hemorrhages cause sudden headaches, stuff necks and intolerance. It could lead to neurological damages such as coma and brain death if not discovered early enough.

●Other causes include; migraine headaches and vasculitis.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of strokes requires both physical examination and internal examination.

A physical examination is conducted to access your balance, speech, movement in arms and legs.

Other exams include;

●Blood tests

●CT scans

●EKG

●MRI

●Cerebral Angiogram

●Carotid Ultrasound

●Echocardiogram

Treatment

In the treatment of strokes, time is very essential because time loss equals brain loss.

Some strokes resolve on their own within minutes of their occurrence. These are called transient ischemic attacks. They should be treated as warning signs and medical help should be sought immediately.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment as a post stroke treatment is a novel technique used in increasing blood supply to the brain.

It can be treated using either drugs or procedures.

Medications used are; anti platelets and anticoagulants, clot breaking drugs and blood pressure drugs.

Procedures involve; stents, mechanical thrombectomy, coiling, stamping, surgery and clamping.

Other helpful procedures are speech therapy, cognitive therapy, physical therapy and relearning sensory skills.