Chapter 9 Flashcards
stroke
an embolism (blockage) or aneurysm (excess bleeding) in the brain
- results in a tissue of the brain being starved of oxygen and nutrients
immediate effects of stroke
sudden difficulty speaking, blindness in one eye, and numbness and/or weakness, usually on one side of the body
long-term effects of stroke
can cause aphasia (loss of speech), loss of fine motor control, paralysis, or even death
hypertension and stroke
- high blood pressure
- too much flow will cause the walls of passages to thin and eventually burst
risk factors of stroke
- hypertension
- cigarette smoking
- diabetes
- hypercholesterolemia
- overweight/no exercise
arterosclerosis
- “hardened vessels”
- plaques, fatty deposits of cholesterol, accumulate inside arteries on the walls and block the lumen, reducing blood flow
- these plaques can cause clots to form
clot
immune cells traffic to area to remove cholesterol deposits and release substances helping to form the clot
- sometimes these immune cells are activated by drugs, rather than trying to remove cholesterol deposits
thrombus
a clot attached to the artery wall
embolism
a clot floating in the bloodstream
- a floating clot can lodge in an artery, completely blocking blood flow and causing tissue death
- can form anywhere then flow to the brain and cause blockage
aneurysm
occurs when an artery wall balloons under pressure, the weakened wall can subsequently burst
- burst aneurysms are usually fatal
another definition of stroke
an injury to the brain caused by the interruption of blood flow to a focal area of the brain or by bleeding into or around the brain; this causes the sudden onset of a focal neurologic deficit or headache which lasts for at least 24 hours or leads to death
transient ischemic attack (TIA)
like a temporary stroke; caused by a brief interruption of blood flow to part of the brain, resulting in sudden, temporary loss of neurological function
- often called “mini-strokes” or “warning strokes” because they mimic the symptoms of a full-blown stroke but typically resolve within minutes to hours, leaving no permanent damage
types of stroke
- ischemic
- hemorrhagic
ischemic stroke
obstruction of a blood vessel supplying the brain by a blood clot deprives the brain of essential nutrients and if blood flow is not restored quickly leads to irreversible damage to the area of the brain supplied by the blood vessel
- thrombus or embolus
hemorrhagic stroke
bleeding into the brain substance or around the brain
four major subtypes of ischemic stroke
- atherothrombotic
- cardioembolic
- lacunar stroke or small vessel disease
- “other” causes