Strokes Essay, Research Paper

Stroke

When a family member has a stroke, the family could also be highly affected. The person may have slurred speech, facial weakness, loss of bladder control, difficulty in breathing and swallowing, and paralysis or weakness, particularly on one side of the body. A stroke is also referred to as cerebral apoplexy and cerebrovascular accident (CVA). It is a cardiovascular disease that affects the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. It is also called a brain attack.

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel bringing oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is clogged by a blood clot or some other particle. Part of the brain does not get the flow of blood it needs because of this rupture or blockage. Nerve cells in the affected area of the brain cannot function; the part of the body controlled by these cells cannot function either because they rely on them. Because dead brain cells cannot be replaced, the devastating effects of stroke are often permanent.

There are four main types of stroke: two are caused by blood clots, and two are cause by hemorrhage. Cerebral thrombosis and cerebral embolism are by far the most common. Clots that plug an artery cause them. Cerebral and sub arachnoid hemorrhages are caused by ruptured blood vessels. They have a much higher fatality rate than strokes caused by clots.

Cerebral thrombosis is the most common type of brain attack. It occurs when blood clot forms and blocks blood flows in an artery bringing blood to part of the brain. Blood clots usually form in arteries damaged by atherosclerosis. One identifying feature of cerebral thrombotic strokes is that they often occur at night or first things in the morning, when blood pressure is low. Another is that very often they are preceded by a transient ischemic attack, also called a mini stroke.

Cerebral embolism occurs when a wandering clot or some other particle forms in a blood vessel away from the brain, usually in the heart. The clot is then carried in the bloodstream until it lodges in an artery leading to or in the brain, blocking the blow of blood.

A hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel on the surface of the brain ruptures and bleeds into the space between the brain and the skull.

Another type of stroke occurs when a defective artery in the brain bursts, flooding the surrounding tissue with blood. This is a cerebral hemorrhage. Hemorrhage, or bleeding, from an artery in the brain can be caused by a head injury or a burst aneurysm. Aneurysms are blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the artery wall.

Strokes are very technical, as with any type of medical problem, when you get down to what really cause them and how people react to them. Basically, people react the same way with the same disturbing effects after. They affect the family very much also though. As the family does not want to see that person going through the pain that they are, the affected worry about the family also. Strokes are dangerous and can be deadly. One should never be deceived by a doctor that says, ?Everything is going to be fine?? In this situation, prepare for the worst?unless the family member shows evident signs of improvement.