Ischemic Stroke

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[edit] Ischemic stroke

The most common cause of a stroke is when one of the brain arteries closes off (typically the middle cerebral artery).

Stroke (ischemic stroke)

Stroke symptoms

Stroke diagnosis

Stroke treatment

Stroke prognosis

This commonly happens in a patients in their 70's or 80's. It is so common that it is the 3^rd most common cause of death and it is the 2^nd most common neurological disability after Alzheimer's disease in Western countries. Here is a link to a site that explains the clotting of an artery with an image and prepares you to understand the signs and symptoms in the subsequent paragraph better.

Symptoms:

If the stroke occurs in the left middle part of the brain, the right body half (right arm, right leg and right face) will be paralyzed. With a right-hand dominant person the speech center is located on the left hemisphere close to the motor center, so that the ability to speak may have disappeared.

Partial blindness in a typical, but complicated pattern would appear. If the stroke is big, there can be sudden unconsciousness and there might be a generalized seizure. Even, when conscious, the patient may hear, but may not be able to process what is heard or maybe unable to speak.

Stroke prognosis:

20% of hospitalized patients die in the hospital and this number is usually higher in older patients. Factors that influence the ultimate outcome are age, size and location of the infarct in the brain tissue, general state of health and whether or not there was loss of consciousness at the time of the stroke. A severe mental deterioration, persistent speech loss and persistent brain stem signs are all poor prognostic indicators.

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References:

1. KH Lee et al. Arch Neurol 2000 Jul 57(7): 1000-1008.

2. S Schmulling et al. Stroke 2000 Jul 31(7): 1552-1554.

3. D Jackson et al. Clin Rehabil 2000 Oct 14(5): 538-547.

4. ML Hackett et al. Neurology 2000 Sep 12; 55 (5): 658-662.

5. K Tsutsumi et al. J Neurosurg 2000 Oct 93( 4): 550-553.

6. IS Spetzler Surg Neurol 2000 Jun 53(6): 530-540.

7. G Lot et al. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 1999; 141(6): 557-562.

8. The Merck Manual, 7^th edition, by M. H. Beers et al., Whitehouse Station, N.J., 1999. Chapter 174.

9. Noble: Textbook of Primary Care Medicine, 3rd ed.,2001, Mosby Inc.

10. Ferri: Ferri's Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment, 2004 ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, Inc.

11. Rakel: Conn's Current Therapy 2004, 56th ed., Copyright © 2004 Elsevier