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A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted by occlusion (an ischemic stroke- approximately 90% of strokes), by hemorrhage (a hemorrhagic stroke - less than 10% of strokes) or other causes. Ischemia is a reduction of blood flow most commonly due to occlusion (an obstruction). On the other hand, hemorrhagic stroke (or intracranial hemorrhage), occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding the brain cells or when a cerebral aneurysm ruptures. A small proportion of strokes are watershed strokes caused by hypoperfusion (usually due to hypotension) or other vascular problems including vasculitis. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ...
In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. ...
Hemorrhage (alternate spelling is Haemorrhage) is the medical term referring to the presence of blood in the interstitial tissues. ...
A cerebral hemorrhage is bleeding directly into the brain parenchyma (tissue) itself, otherwise known as hemorrhagic stroke. ...
In medicine, ischemia (Greek ισχαιμία, isch- is restriction, hema or haema is blood) is a restriction in blood supply, generally due to factors in the blood vessels, with resultant damage or dysfunction of tissue. ...
This article needs cleanup. ...
The arterial system The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body. ...
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. ...
A watershed or catchment basin is the region of land whose water drains into a specified body of water, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean. ...
In medicine, vasculitis (plural: vasculitides) is a group of diseases featuring inflammation of the wall of blood vessels. ...
A stroke is a medical emergency. It generally presents with loss of function of the area of the body controlled by the affected part of the brain, e.g. hemiplegia, loss of speech or vision, impaired swallowing reflex or altered sensation. The immediate and long-term results lead to marked morbidity and mortality. A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a persons health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. ...
In epidemiology, the morbidity rate is a ratio that measures the incidence and prevalence of a specific disease. ...
Causes
Ischemic stroke Ischemic stroke is usually caused by atherosclerosis (fatty lumps in the artery wall), embolism (obstruction of blood vessels by blood clots from elsewhere in the body), or microangiopathy (small artery disease, the occlusion of small cerebral vessels). h ...
Microangiopathy is a disease process affecting small blood vessels. ...
Risk factors (for atherosclerosis and small vessel disease) are age, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes mellitus, elevated cholesterol levels and cigarette smoking. High blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke. Atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias can lead to clot formation in the heart, which embolize to the brain. Some forms of thrombophilia (increased coagulation tendency) have a predilection for arterial thrombosis and stroke; these include polycythemia vera and the rare paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Sickle cell anemia predisposes to strokes. Hypertension or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure in the arteries is chronically elevated. ...
Diabetes mellitus is a medical disorder characterized by varying or persistent hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar levels), especially after eating. ...
Hypercholesterolemia (literally: high blood cholesterol) is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. ...
Tobacco smoking is the act of smoking tobacco products, especially cigarettes and cigars. ...
Atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib) is a cardiac arrhythmia (an abnormality of heart rate or rhythm) originating in the atria. ...
A cardiac arrhythmia, also called cardiac dysrhythmia, is a disturbance in the regular rhythm of the heartbeat. ...
Thrombophilia is the propensity to develop thrombosis (blood clots) due to an abnormality in the system of coagulation. ...
Polycythemia is a condition in which there is a net increase in the total circulating erythrocyte (red blood cell) mass of the body. ...
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare disease characterised by aplastic anemia, thrombosis and red urine in the morning due to breakdown of red blood cells. ...
Sickle-shaped red blood cells Sickle cell anemia (American English), sickle cell anaemia (British English) or sickle cell disease is a genetic disease in which red blood cells may change shape under certain circumstances. ...
Hemorrhagic stroke High blood pressure also predisposes to cerebral bleeding. Other causes include arteriovenous malformation (cerebral AVM), cerebral aneurysms, trauma and prematurity. Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is a congenital disorder of unknown cause, which produces diffuse or localized vascular lesions consisting of tangle(s) of vessels with abnormal connections and no capillaries. ...
Cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a congenital disorder of the blood vessels characterized by tangle(s) of veins and arteries located in various parts of the brain. ...
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. ...
Trauma can represent: A serious and often body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb. ...
Premature birth (also known as preterm birth) is defined medically as birth occurring earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation. ...
Watershed stroke As opposed to hemorrhagic stroke or embolic (or other atherogenic) stroke, watershed strokes occur in parts of the brain that lie at the boundary between zones of arterial distribution from different arteries. When there is hypotension from any cause, these watershed areas are more susceptible to damage than other areas of the brain.
Signs and symptoms The symptoms of stroke are usually easy to spot: - sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;
- reflexes can initially be decreased on the affected side, but are often livelier than on the other side
- the face is normally spared (as this is served by both hemispheres), but the corner of the mouth can be affected on the same side as the limb symptoms
- sudden confusion or aphasia (trouble speaking) or understanding speech;
- sudden trouble seeing in one eye (or rarely both);
- unequal pupils
- sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination.
A subgroup loses consciousness as part of the initial presentation. This occurs more often in bleeding than in thrombosis. Paresthesia (paraesthesia in British) is a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin with no apparent physical cause, more generally known as the feeling of pins and needles. ...
A reflex action or reflex is a biological control system linking stimulus to response and mediated by a reflex arc. ...
Confusion can have the following meanings: Unclarity, e. ...
Aphasia is a loss or impairment of the ability to produce or comprehend language, due to brain damage. ...
Speech: (n. ...
Visual perception is one of the senses, consisting of the ability to detect light and interpret (see) it as the perception known as sight or naked eye vision. ...
An eye is an organ that detects light. ...
Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on land, distinguished from running and crawling. ...
Dizziness (Latin: Vertigo) is the sensation of instability. ...
A sudden-onset severe headache can denote subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is a stroke-like clinical entity. Some other forms of stroke can feature headaches. A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ...
A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain, i. ...
If the symptoms resolve within an hour, or maximum 24 hours, the diagnosis is transient ischemic attack (TIA), and not a stroke. This syndrome may be a warning sign, and a proportion of patients develop strokes in the future. The chances of suffering a stroke can be reduced by using aspirin, which inhibits platelets from aggregating and forming obstructive clots. Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) are caused by temporary disturbance of blood supply to a restricted area of brain and cause recurrent and brief (less than 24 hours) neurologic dysfunctions. ...
A very old bottle of Aspirin Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ...
Diagnosis Stroke is diagnosed through several techniques: a neurological examination, blood tests, CT scans (without contrast enhancements) or MRI scans, Doppler ultrasound, and arteriography. The most important risk factors for stroke are hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and cigarette smoking. Other risks include heavy alcohol consumption, high blood cholesterol levels, illicit drug use, and genetic or congenital conditions. Some risk factors for stroke apply only to women. Primary among these are pregnancy, childbirth, and the menopause and treatment thereof (HRT). Stroke seems to run in some families. Family members may have a genetic tendency for stroke or share a lifestyle that contributes to stroke. Blood tests are laboratory tests done on blood to gain an appreciation of disease states and the function of organs. ...
CAT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around...
MRI Image Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a method of creating images of the inside of opaque organs in living organisms as well as detecting the amount of bound water in geological structures. ...
Medical ultrasonography is an ultrasound-based imaging diagnostic technique used to visualize internal organs, their size, structure and their pathological lesions. ...
Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique in which an X-ray picture is taken to visualize the inner opening of blood filled structures, including arteries, veins and the heart chambers. ...
There are different forms of heart disease: Coronary heart disease Ischaemic heart disease Cardiovascular disease The study of heart disease is Cardiology This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a system of medical treatment for postmenopausal women, based on the assumption that it may prevent health problems caused by diminished circulating estrogen hormones. ...
Pathophysiology Neurons and glia die when they no longer receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood or when they are damaged by sudden bleeding into or around the brain. These damaged cells can linger in a compromised state for several hours. With timely treatment, these cells can be saved. Intriguingly, when the brain cells suffer the ischemia, they begin to fill up with free zinc ions which are released from some of their proteins, especially metallothionein, which can release 7 zinc ions per molecule. This released zinc is a major player in the ensuing death of the brain cells. Drugs that buffer the zinc and reduce the level of free zinc are already being testsed to reduce brain cell death after stroke. Neurons (also spelled neurones or called nerve cells) are the primary cells of the nervous system. ...
Neuroglia cells of the brain shown by Golgis method. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ...
Nutrients and the body A nutrient is any element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ...
Prevention Prevention is an important public health concern. Identification of patients with treatable risk factors for stroke is paramount. Treatment of risk factors in patients who have already had strokes (secondary prevention) is also very important as they are at high risk of subsequent events compared with those who have never had a stroke. Medication or drug therapy is the most common method of stroke prevention. Surgery such as Carotid endarterectomy can be used to remove significant narrowing of the neck (internal) carotid artery which supplies blood to the brain and this operation has been shown to be an effective way to prevent stroke in particular groups of patients. The carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. ...
Some brain damage that results from stroke may be secondary to the initial death of brain cells caused by the lack of blood flow to the brain tissue. This brain damage is a result of a toxic reaction to the primary damage. Researchers are studying the mechanisms of this toxic reaction and ways to prevent this secondary injury to the brain. Scientists hope to develop neuroprotective agents to prevent this damage. Another area of research involves experiments with vasodilators, medications that expand or dilate blood vessels and thus increase the blood flow to the brain. Basic research has also focused on the genetics of stroke and stroke risk factors. One area of research involving genetics is gene therapy. One promising area of stroke animal research involves hibernation. The dramatic decrease of blood flow to the brain in hibernating animals is extensive enough that it would kill a non-hibernating animal. If scientists can discover how animals hibernate without experiencing brain damage, then maybe they can discover ways to stop the brain damage associated with decreased blood flow in stroke patients. Other studies are looking at the role of hypothermia, or decreased body temperature, on metabolism and neuroprotection. Scientists are working to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself and restore important functions to the stroke patients. Some evidence suggests that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in which a small magnetic current is delivered to an area of the brain, may possibly increase brain plasticity and speed up recovery of function after stroke. Gene therapy using an Adenovirus vector. ...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is the use of powerful rapidly changing magnetic fields to induce electric fields in the brain by electromagnetic induction without the need for surgery or external electrodes. ...
Treatment
Early assessment It is important to identify that a patient is having a stroke as early as possible because recovery can be improved for patients treated earlier. The term "brain attack" is used to underline the urgency of early assessment and treatment similar in intensity to the management of a patient with a heart attack. A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...
If a patient is suspected of having a stroke, emergency services should be contacted immediately, so he or she can be transported to the nearest hospital that can provide a rapid evaluation and treatment with the latest available therapies targeted to the type of stroke. The faster these therapies are started for hemorrhagic stroke (caused by bleeding into or around the brain) and ischemic stroke (due to a blood clot that blocks blood flow), the chances for recovery from each type improves greatly. Immediate decisions about medication and the need for surgery have been shown to improve outcome.
Only detailed physical examination and medical imaging provide information on the type of stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) and the extent, or whether the symptoms may be due to an unrelated condition. In medicine, physical examination, or clinical examination, is the process by which the physician investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease . ...
Medical imaging is the process by which physicians evaluate an area of the subjects body that is not normally visible. ...
Long-term studies show that patients treated in hospitals with a dedicated Stroke Team or Stroke Unit, and that have a specialized care program for stroke patients, have improved odds of recovery.
Ischemic stroke As ischemic stroke is due to a thrombus (blood clot) occluding a cerebral artery, a patient is commenced on anticoagulant medication (aspirin and/or clopidogrel or warfarin, dependant on the cause) when this type of stroke has been demonstrated. As such treatment would be dangerous in hemorrhagic stroke, it is essential that this form of stroke is ruled out with medical imaging. A thrombus is the final product of blood coagulation, through the aggregation of platelets and the activation of the humoral coagulation system. ...
An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. ...
A very old bottle of Aspirin Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ...
Clopidogrel, which is often prescribed under the brand name Plavix ® (clopidogrel bisulfate; produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo), is a potent oral antiplatelet agent often used in the treatment of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. ...
Warfarin (also known under the brand name Coumadin®) is an anticoagulant medication that can be administered orally. ...
In increasing numbers of specialist centers, thrombolysis ("clot busting") is used to dissolve the putative clot. As this treatment is expensive, quite experimental, potentially dangerous and often contraindicated, the decision to thrombolyse can often only be made by an expert. There is also a time constraint: studies indicate that after three hours of symptom onset the damage to the brain is irreversible ("time is brain"), and that thrombolysis would provide no benefit. These various requirement prevent routine thrombolysis of ischemic stroke in most hospitals, especially out of working hours when no stroke expert may be available. Thrombolysis is the breakdown (lysis) by pharmacological means, of blood clots. ...
Whether thrombolysis is performed or not, the following investigations are required:
- Stroke symptoms are documented, often using scoring systems such as the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, the Cincinnati Stroke Scale, and the Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Scale. The latter is used by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to determine whether a patient needs transport to a stroke center.
- A CT scan is performed to rule out hemorrhagic stroke (or other specific forms of cerebral hemorrhage, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage)
- Blood tests, such as a full blood count, coagulation studies (PT/INR, APTT), electrolytes, renal function, liver function tests and glucose levels.
- In selected patients, specialized testing, such as a cerebral arteriogram, may be performed. Cerebral arteriography is used to both detect and to treat conditions that cause ischemic stroke.
Other immediate strategies to protect the brain during stroke include ensuring that blood sugar is as normal as possible (such as commencement of an insulin sliding scale in known diabetics), and that the stroke patient is receiving adequate oxygen and intravenous fluids. The patient may be positioned so that their head is flat on the stretcher, rather than sitting up, since studies have shown that this increases blood flow to the brain. Additional therapies for ischemic stroke include aspirin (50 to 325 mg daily), clopidogrel (75 mg daily), and combined aspirin and dipyridamole extended release (25/200 mg twice daily). Drugs that can reduce the concentration of free zinc in the brain are also showing promise in stroke patients. These appear to reduce the neuron cell loss because they can block or reduce the zinc toxicity component of the stroke injury. An emergency medical technician (EMT) is an emergency responder trained to provide emergency medical services (EMS) to the critically ill and injured. ...
CT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around...
A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain, i. ...
Blood tests are laboratory tests done on blood to gain an appreciation of disease states and the function of organs. ...
A full blood count (FBC) or complete blood count (CBC) is a test requested by a doctor or other medical professional that gives information about the cells in a patients blood. ...
The coagulation of blood is a complex process during which blood forms solid clots. ...
The prothrombin time (PT) and its derived measures of prothrombin ratio (PR) and international normalized ratio (INR) are measures of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation. ...
The partial thromboplastin time (PTT) or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) is a commonly performed test for the system of coagulation, especially its intrinsic pathway. ...
An electrolyte is a substance which dissociates free ions when dissolved (or molten), to produce an electrically conductive medium. ...
In medicine (nephrology) renal function is an indication of the state of the kidney and its role in physiology. ...
Liver function tests (LFTs or LFs), are groups of clinical biochemistry laboratory blood assays designed to give a doctor or other health professional information about the state of a patients liver. ...
A space-filling model of glucose Glucose, a simple monosaccharide sugar, is one of the most important carbohydrates and is used as a source of energy in animals and plants. ...
This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ...
An intravenous drip in a hospital Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. ...
A very old bottle of Aspirin Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ...
Clopidogrel, which is often prescribed under the brand name Plavix ® (clopidogrel bisulfate; produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo), is a potent oral antiplatelet agent often used in the treatment of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. ...
Dipyridamole is a drug that inhibits platelet aggregation. ...
It is common for the blood pressure to be elevated immediately following a stroke. Studies indicated that while high blood pressure causes stroke, it is actually beneficial in the emergency period to allow better blood flow to the brain. Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the blood vessels. ...
Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ...
Hemorrhagic stroke Patient's with bleeding into (intracerebral hemorrhage) or around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage), require neurosurgical evaluation. Neurosurgeons use specialized examinations for hemorrhagic stroke patients, such as the Hunt & Hess scale, that can help determine the appropriate treatment. Strategies to protect the brain during this type of stroke include blood sugar and blood pressure control, adequate oxygen and intravenous fluids, detection and treatment of the cause of bleeding, and constant surveillance (e.g. with the Glasgow Coma Scale) and immediate treatment for complications from bleeding into or around the brain. A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain, i. ...
Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central and peripheral nervous system diseases ammenable to mechanical intervention. ...
This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...
The Glasgow Coma Scale (also known as Glasgow Coma Score or simply GCS) was first published by Glasgow-based Teasdale & Jennett (1974) to assess head trauma and, importantly, to help keep track of patients progress over a period of time. ...
Cerebral arteriography may be used to determine the cause for bleeding, since some causes may be surgically corrected to reduce the risk of future bleeding. Selected patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a ruptured aneurysm require emergency surgery to "clip" the aneurysm off from the normal brain blood circulation, and they receive nimodipine, a drug shown to reduce incidence of vasospasm, a complication of this type of stroke. A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. ...
Nimodipine (marketed by Bayer as Nimotop®) is a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker originally developed for the treatment of high blood pressure. ...
Vasospasm refers to a condition in which blood vessels spasm, leading to constriction. ...
Care and rehabilitation Good nursing care is fundamental in maintaining skin care, feeding and hydration and positioning as well as the monitoring of vital signs such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure. Stroke rehabilitation begins almost immediately.
Stroke rehabilitation is the process by which patients with disabling strokes undergo treatment to help them return to normal life as much as possible by regaining and relearning the skills of everyday living. It is multidisciplinary in the fact that it involves a team with different skills working together to help the patient. These include nursing staff, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and usually a physician trained in rehabiliation medicine. Some teams may also include psychologists and social workers and pharmacists. Physical therapy can help restore lost functionality in many people. ...
// What is Occupational Therapy? Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. ...
A physician is a person who practices medicine. ...
A psychologist is a researcher and/or a practitioner of psychology. ...
A social worker is a professionally trained person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ...
Pharmacists are health professionals who practice pharmacy. ...
For most stroke patients, physical therapy is the cornerstone of the rehabilitation process. Another type of therapy involving relearning daily activities is occupational therapy (OT). OT involves exercise and training to help the stroke patient relearn everyday activities sometimes called the Activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, drinking and swallowing, dressing, bathing, cooking, reading and writing, and toileting. Speech and language therapy is appropriate for patients with problems understanding speech or written words, or problems forming speech. Physiotherapy (also known as physical therapy) is a health profession concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and disability through physical means. ...
// What is Occupational Therapy? Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. ...
Activities of daily living (ADL), is a way to describe the functional status of a person. ...
Patients may have particular problems such as an inability to swallow or a swallow that is not safe such that swallowed material may pass into the lungs and cause an aspiration pneumonia. The swallow may improve with time but in the interim a nasogastric tube may be passed which enables liquid food to be given directly into the stomach. If after a week the swallow is still not safe then a PEG tube is passed and this can remain indefinitely. Aspiration pneumonia is a specific form of pneumonia that develop when gastric contents, saliva or nasal secretions are aspirated into the bronchial tree. ...
A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is the making of access to the digestive tract through the abdominal wall. ...
The team have regular meetings at which the patient and family may be present to discuss the current situation and to set goals and to ensure effective communication. In most cases the desired goal is to enable the patient to return home to independent living though this is not always possible.
Stroke rehabilitation can last anything from a few days up to several months. Most return of function is seen in the first few days and weeks and then falls off. It is unusual that there is complete recovery but not impossible. Most patients will improve to some extent.
Prognosis Although stroke is a disease of the brain, it can affect the entire body. Some of the disabilities that can result from stroke include paralysis, cognitive deficits, speech problems, emotional difficulties, pressure sores, pneumonia, continence problems, daily living problems, and pain. If the stroke is severe enough, coma or death can result. Depression is common but may respond to antidepressants. Paralysis is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups. ...
Bedsores, also called pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, are ulcers (sores) caused by prolonged pressure or rubbing on vulnerable areas of the body. ...
Pneumonia (the ancient Greek word for lungs) is defined as an inflamation, usually caused by infection, involving the alveoli of the lungs. ...
The word incontinence has several distinct meanings: urinary incontinence is the inability to control urination fecal incontinence is the inability to control defecation the word incontinence can also be used to mean a lack of self-control governing morality. ...
According to the International Society for the Study of Pain, there are two different terms: pain and nociception. ...
In medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep) is a profound state of unconsciousness, which may result from a variety of conditions including intoxication (drug, alcohol or toxins), metabolic abnormalities (hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis, etc. ...
In Western culture, skeletons are often the symbol of death. ...
Clinical depression is a health condition of depression with mental and physical components reaching criteria generally accepted by clinicians. ...
An antidepressant is a medication used primarily in the treatment of clinical depression. ...
See also Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) are caused by temporary disturbance of blood supply to a restricted area of brain and cause recurrent and brief (less than 24 hours) neurologic dysfunctions. ...
Apoplexy is an old-fashioned medical term, generally used interchangeably with cerebrovascular accident (CVA or stroke) but having other meanings as well. ...
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