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Stroke

Authors: Cedeño Laura, González Bianca, Macías Sandra, Ordoñez Angie, Suraty Hilary

y Tigua María

Third Science "A", Unidad Educativa Pdte. “Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola”

English

Osiris Pilar Herrera Rosales

November 3, 2022
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Stroke

A stroke occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted as a result of a

ruptured or blocked blood vessel. Stroke can be hemorrhagic or ischemic. A hemorrhagic stroke

occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures allowing blood to spill into the brain. An

ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries blood to the brain becomes blocked or

restricted due to severely narrowed arteries or a blood clot.

Because treatment depends on the type of stroke, your doctor may use a CT scan of the

head or MRI of the head to help diagnose your condition. Other tests may include blood tests,

electrocardiograms, carotid ultrasounds, echocardiograms, or cerebral angiography. Immediate

treatment of stroke can help save lives and reduce disability by restoring blood flow (in the case

of an ischemic stroke) or by controlling bleeding and reducing pressure in the brain (in the case

of a hemorrhagic stroke).

How is a stroke treated?

A stroke is a medical emergency. Prompt treatment can save lives and reduce the

likelihood of disability. Treatment depends on the severity and type of stroke. Treatment will

focus on restoring blood flow (in the case of an ischemic stroke) and reducing pressure in the

brain (in the case of a hemorrhagic stroke). When a stroke is caused by a blood clot, the patient

may receive a clot-busting drug, such as a tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), to dissolve the

clot and help restore blood flow to the damaged area of the brain. Clot-busting drugs, which can

only be administered within hours of stroke onset, are usually given intravenously by emergency

medical personnel or in the hospital emergency department. Patients may also receive

anticoagulant drugs such as aspirin or warfarin, heparin, or clopidogrel.

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Other treatments for stroke include:

 Surgery to remove blood from around the brain and repair damaged blood vessels.

 Intracranial vascular treatments: Endovascular therapy is a minimally invasive

procedure used to improve blood flow in the arteries and veins of the brain. In

endovascular therapy, an image-guided catheter is moved through the body's

blood vessels to the brain to deliver:

 Drugs to dissolve blood clots.

 Mechanical removers and suction systems help remove blood clots or debris from

the cerebral arteries.

 Devices such as balloons, which are used to open very narrow blood vessels, and

small tubes are used to keep blood vessels open. In this procedure (which is used

to improve blood flow in the carotid arteries that supply blood to the brain), a

catheter with a balloon at the tip is threaded into the part of the artery that is

blocked and narrowed, where it is inflated to open the vessel. A small wire mesh

tube called a stent may be placed in the artery to help keep it open.

 Small metal coils repair a ruptured aneurysm in a cerebral artery.

After a stroke, many patients will receive post-stroke rehabilitation to cope with

disabilities that may occur as a result of the stroke. Post-stroke treatment may also include

measures to prevent another stroke, including control or elimination of risk factors such as high

blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

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Annexes:
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Bibliographic references

Radiologyinfo. (23 de marzo de 2020). Stroke. Recuperado el 03 de noviembre de 2022, de

Radiologyinfo: https://www.radiologyinfo.org/es/info/stroke