Page of 3 Zoom Pages Nursing Overview of a Cerebral Aneurysm 1 A cerebral aneurysm is a thinning and bulging, or rupture of arteries in the brain. Unruptured aneurysms are usually asymptomatic and often not discovered until diagnostic testing such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) is performed (Bowles, 2014, pg 54). It is unknown the exact pathophysiology of why the ruptures happen; however, changes for modifiable risk factors are highly encouraged at the discovery of an unruptured aneurysm. Symptoms of an aSAH can be mistaken for a cardiovascular event with an associated headache. A headache is often discounted or overlooked as a symptom of a ruptured aneurysm …show more content…
Modifiable risk factors are the same as many other cardiovascular and neurological diseases: hypertension, healthy weight and diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Nursing considerations are confident and timely recognition of symptoms of a rupture using a systematic approach such as ABCDE, or Glasgow Coma Scale (Bowles, 2014, pg 55). I liked the simplicity of this article. The anatomy and physiology presented were not overly complicated and commensurate with a nursing perspective vice a doctor or physician perspective. Also included in the article are nursing considerations for symptom recognition, treatment of those symptoms, and nursing considerations for postoperative care. A nurse wrote the article and the language is easily relatable to what I am learning in the Practical Nurse program at Clover Park Technical College. The author is from Great Britain and their preferred initial systematic approach for symptom assessment is “ABCDE”. This is more of an emergency assessment as opposed to the WHATSUP nursing assessment of signs and symptoms. The aSAH is an emergency situation that any LPN may be required to respond to. I like that the author incorporated an emergency response into a nursing process. As both an Emergency
A subarachnoid hemorrhage stroke is caused by bleeding in the space between the brain and the skull. When blood is released into this space, there is an increase in pressure on the brain. Clotted blood, as a result of the bleed, can force the brain against the skull and cause it to shift and herniate. This cascade of events causes normal cerebral spinal fluid to be blocked causing dilation of ventricles.
West, E., Griffith, W., Iphofen, R. (2007, April vol.16/no.2). A historical perspective on the nursing
As student studying anatomy and physiology it was very appropriate to realize that the human body
Practice. In P. A. Potter, & A. G. (7th ed.) Perry, Fundamentals of Nursing (pp. 215-324). Saint Louis MO: Mosby-Elsevier.
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One of the ways in which ischemic stroke can happen is embolic stroke which occurs when a blood clot or plaque fragment forms somewhere in the body and travels to the brain. Once in the brain, the clot travels to the blood vessel small enough to block its passage. After that, the clots stay there and block the blood vessel which causes the stroke. About 15% of embolic strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation (Ischemic stroke, 2016). In other words, embolic strokes occur when an irregular, often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow.
Cerebral vascular accident or a stroke is the destruction of brain substance, resulting from thrombosis, intracranial hemorrhage, or embolism, which causes vascular insufficiency. In addition, it is an area of the brain denied blood and oxygen that is required and damage is done to a part of the cells. The effect of the patient depends upon where the damage occurs and the severity of the stroke.
Give one personal, one academic, and a nursing/clinical well-chosen example from real life experiences or actual instances that support your understanding of the reading.
Taylor, C. R., Lillis, C., LeMone, P., & Lynn, P. (2011). Fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of nursing care (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
When comparing the content of the article to the original study, the information is accurate, but the information is written in an oversimplified manner. Since the article was published on ABC, the reader is the average person, thus, their knowledge on detailed physiology is most likely limited.
Stroke, the main cause of death worldwide, is a brain attack defined as sudden death of brain cells due to rupture of artery causing loss of speech, weakness, or paralysis of one side of the body (Lindsberg, & Roine, 2004)
Suzuki et al.119 reported on the post-surgical overall clinical outcome in 603 patients with an ACoA aneurysm. Of these patients, 367 (61%) had an excellent outcome, 107 (18%) had a good outcome, 99 (16%) had a fair/poor outcome, and 30 (5%) died. Of the 264 patients who presented in Hunt and Hess Grades 0–III, 86% had an excellent or good outcome.
Alcamo, Edward, and Krumhardt, Barbara. Anatomy and Physiology The Easy Way. Hauppauge, New York.: Barron’s Educational series, inc. 1996
(2016) Kozier & Erb's fundamentals of nursing: concepts, process, and practice Essex, U.K : Pearson Prentice Hall