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Ischemic And Hemorrhagic Stroke by Jonathon Hardcastle - ArticleCity.com

Hopefully you never had to endure a situation of someone close to you to suffer from transient ischemic attach (TIA), also known as mini stoke, or from a stroke. In any case, you should be familiar with both kinds of stroke as they both destroy brain tissue and can produce similar long-term effects. But there are important differences in what causes them and in the symptoms that tell you which kind of stroke is happening.

Ischemic Stroke:

According to statistics, 80 percent of strokes belong to the ischemic stroke kind. These mini-strokes occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked by plaque-clogged arteries or by blood clots. This means that blood is not circulating properly inside the brain causing brain cells to die if even for a few minutes no oxygen is transmitted to them via the blood.

- Symptoms: Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; difficulty speaking or understanding speech; trouble seeing in one or both eyes; dizziness and a sudden loss of balance; falling in and out of consciousness; chest pain and shortness of breath. These last three symptoms are less-brain-centered and are more commonly experienced by women.

Hemorrhagic Stroke:

These brain hemorrhages happen when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the surrounding tissue. There are various causes of these bursts. The most frequent is the rupture of an aneurysm, a weak spot on the wall of an artery that happens to be in your brain-aneurysms can occur elsewhere in the body, too. Experts point out that women are twice as likely as men to have an aneurysm in the brain and are more likely to have multiple aneurysms than men. Two other causes for bleeding in the brain are: hypertension, which can create enough pressure to break an artery wall, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the brain. This is a snarl of defective blood vessels and capillaries whose thin walls are prone to rupture.

- Symptoms: A sudden violent headache, as if cracking a fault like through the brain’s delicate architecture. The patient may also suffer from blurred vision or nausea.

If you ever suspect you might be having a TIA or stroke or believe you are witnessing someone else having one, make sure 911 (or your local emergency unit) be called immediately. Tell the dispatcher that, if possible, you want to be transported to a hospital with a stroke center. Do not attempt to drive to the emergency room yourself. Stroke patients who arrive at the hospital by ambulance are evaluated sooner by an ER physician, get the necessary testing and are admitted to the hospital or intensive-care unit more frequently than those who arrive by taxi or car. Most importantly, bring someone prepared to advocate for you or the patient. Be prepared by being informed and act fast!

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Two for the Day....

first...

Harry

It's sobering when my mom calls me to fill me in on what's going on. I supremely appreciate it compared to walking into work and having people tell me things I should know, but don't.

Kara, Craig and Harry left for Boston yesterday after Kara got off work. They talked to the doctors today and here is what I know after my mom heard it from my aunt who heard it from Kara:

-Harry's heart is still enlarged, but I am assuming it's not as large as it was right after he was born. The cardiologist is optimisic for the surgery and says that his heart is strong enough. There might be some problems after surgery because the amount of blood being pumped through it will be diminished. I have no idea what that will do to him, if anything serious at all.

-The surgery is going to last for at least 14 hours. During which they are going to remove 2/3 of the left hemisphere of his brain and the AVM mass. The bad news is that the mass has rooted on the right, healthy side of his brain and they are going to have to remove the roots as well. If they don't get the roots, it will grow back. They told them to not be surprised if after surgery the right side of his body is paralyzed. It could last six months.

-The AVM is a mass of bloodvessels and arteries and there is one major one I believe on the back of his head they are worried about bleeding out. Despite that, they say the risk of death is 5%. I love how they can whittle everything down to a percent.

-He will have a massive scar from the surgery, which is a given and rather minor. He's a boy and if anything like his brother, dad, uncles, cousins .... the scar will be tuff as hell.

-There is risk for bleeding and swelling after the surgery. In that case, they will insert a shunt to drain the excess fluids, but there is a possibility they will have to go back in to stop the bleeding.

-They say that even with a little over half a brain that he will continue to develop normally. He might be slowed if he is paralyzed for a few months, but like my mom said, he'll walk at two instead of one.

-The doctors speculate that he could be home as early as next weekend. If it was my child, I would not be bringing him home so soon after brain surgery. They would be so far away from the doctors back home, but they say if the stuff that could happen would happen in that span of time.

That is all the info I have right now. The surgery is Monday and I would assume early because it is going to take so long. And God willing, it will take all of 14 hours to do it.
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second...
Dr. Oz...
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Dr. Taylor: I had an AVM in July 2005 and I found the show and your book on strokes very informative, insightful, and just great! I have many deficits but health, exercise, and nutrition is very important. I learned allot from the show and your book. First, to mourn who you were before your "event ." I seem to spend time thinking about who that person was and trying to get to that place. Second, that recovery is ongoing and could take many years. I thought I would lose my ability to do math. or to multi-task, or to walk or skip without looking down. I may still lose those abilities but I know there is hope! I was struck by the woman who called in at the end who had an AVM a year and a half ago and was crying. As you know, this event can be very emotional. I cried allot too in the beginning but the crying has lessened. It hasn't gone away. I still get sad, but I'm moving forward now. I hope with time this woman will also. I write Tim Johnson in SD because he had an AVM and is still in the Senate. I've been writing him for almost two years now because I wanted him to have hope from a survivor. It's so important. Many people with disabilities deal with the lack of eye contact and people talking over and around them. Your plea that your not stupid just wounded should be taught at a very early age. As a matter of fact, I got more practical advice from toddlers than anybody! Thank you for bringing these and your many other issues to TV.dr oz
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AVM / Stroke News!

MONTHLY CHECK-UP
The 2 major mechanisms that cause it to occur are an obstructive blood clot or burst blood vessel
Monday, October 20, 2008
By DAVID DONALDSON
Staten Island Advance

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In last weeks Advance, I discussed the risk factors and presenting symptoms of a stroke. This article will focus on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of a stroke.

A stroke is caused by a sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain. This interruption of blood starves the brain of oxygen and nutrients. The brain is highly sensitive to such changes and immediately begins to die and undergo irreversible brain damage with a stroke.

There are two major mechanisms of a stroke; either due to an obstructive blood clot (ischemic stroke) or burst blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). In an ischemic stroke, a blood clot forms on a ruptured atherosclerotic plaque or a blood clot formed from a distant site travels downstream to become lodged in the arteries of the brain.

In a hemorrhagic stroke, an artery bursts and releases blood into the brain, compressing the surrounding tissue and preventing downstream blood flow to the remaining portions of the brain.

The majority of strokes are ischemic in nature and are the result of progressive atherosclerosis, or fatty plaguing of blood vessels. Another common cause of an ischemic stroke is an irregular heart beat, called atrial fibrillation. In this condition, blood pools in the top chamber of the heart, allowing small blood clots to form that are subsequently released to the brain.

Less frequently, strokes are hemorrhagic, in which the blood vessels break and cause damage. The most common cause of hemorrhagic stroke is abnormal blood vessel formation, in which the vessels are weak and eventually rupture. Abnormal blood vessels are commonly due to ballooning of artery walls, forming aneurysms. A second cause is clustering of abnormally formed arteries and veins, forming AV malformations. Both aneurysms and AV malformations increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes.

DIAGNOSIS OF STROKE

The diagnosis of a stroke or a TIA is usually made with close examination and history taking by a medical professional. In an emergency stroke hospital, a physician will perform a rapid history and focused neurological examination and then order some basic tests. These tests start with blood work, an EKG, and a head CT to determine whether the stroke appears to be hemorrhagic or embolic.

If indicated, a brain MRI is extremely useful to more accurately assess the brain tissue, and the blood vessels of the neck and brain. Also, ultrasound imaging of the blood vessels of the neck and base of the brain is quite useful. Lastly, the most accurate imaging of blood vessels is an invasive procedure called a cerebral angiogram, in which catheters are placed in the arteries of the brain to look for possible blockages.

The management of a stroke depends on whether the cause is hemorrhagic or embolic in nature. Regardless of the mechanism, time is critical in making the diagnosis of a stroke and initiating appropriate care.

For embolic strokes, the culprit is commonly a blood clot obstructing down stream blood flow. Therefore, the goal of therapy is to break up and dissolve the clot. This is done with blood thinners, and in cases when the time of onset of symptoms is close enough to the time of medical attention, patients can be treated with an injection of a potent clot buster called a thrombolytic.

Rarely, physicians are able to remove the blood clot during the cerebral angiogram, yet this is not usually attempted. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of all patients with embolic strokes reach medical attention in the allowed time window for administration of thromobolytics. The long-term care of embolic strokes is focused on minimizing the risk of future embolic strokes with the anti-platelet agents aspirin and Clopidogrel, or commonly with the anti-coagulant Coumadin.

The management of hemorrhagic strokes is completely the opposite. As bleeding is the problem, the goal of therapy is to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible and decompress the surrounding brain tissue. As AV malformations and aneurysms are the most common causes of hemorrhagic strokes, neurosurgeons can place a surgical clip at the base of the AVM and aneurysm and then drain the accumulating blood. A non-surgical technique employs catheters that are introduced into the blood vessels, allowing placement of a coil into the AV malformation or aneurysm, thus preventing expansion and reducing the risk of rupture.

A stroke is a lethal and commonly debilitating condition that is all too prevalent in the United States. As only medical professionals can initiate treatment for a stroke, it remains critical that Americans be mindful of the clues of a stroke and always remember to act "FAST."

Dr. Donaldson is a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a former Staten Islander who recently moved to Boston. Dr. Donaldson's column appears on the first Monday of every month in the HEALTH section.

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And That's about it...I haven't sold any tubs , since my first.... but oh well... I will get a shot tomorrow.
I noticed that there were no new AVMs to report.... this is very good news.

I have been in bed all day.... I seems that I get headaches... today was a doozey! It is a side effect of my AVM.
So it looks like I have a new avm story... only I can't write... so know that I have bad ones to...

okay enuff of me... Goodnight.
R

Arteriovenous malformation- wikipedia.org definition

yes wiki has a definition....

Arteriovenous malformation or AVM in the majority of cases is a congenital disorder consisting of a connection between veins and arteries, this pathology is universally known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system, but can appear in any location.

The genetic transmission patterns of AVM -if any- are unknown, and AVM is not generally thought to be an inherited disorder, unless in the context of a specific hereditary syndrome.

more here....

Well life is petty much a bore.... wife is out seen one of her relatives in jail.... it is a long ways a way... he he he.

today all there was was a Wiki of an AVM... that is good news!
Lets see if there is any new youtube....


A porn service announcement.

he he he!

thats it.... hope you enjoyed.



okay I admit it was funny....