Cerebral Vascular Stroke: A Case Study

Cerebral Vascular Accident also known as a stroke occurs when part of the brain loses its blood supply and the part of the body that the blood-deprived brain cells control stops working. Blood loss supply can be ischemic because of lack of blood flow, or hemorrhagic because of bleeding into brain tissue. When an artery in the brain is being obstructed or blocked preventing oxygen rich blood from being delivered to brain cells, an ischemic stroke can occur (Wedro, 2013).

Atherosclerosis can happen when fatty deposits line the vessel walls, which can cause two types of obstruction: cerebral thrombosis which is a blood clot that develops at the clogged part of the vessel; and cerebral embolism that forms at another location in the circulatory system, usually the heart and large arteries of the upper chest and neck (ASA, 2013).

Poorly controlled high blood pressure that weakens the wall of an artery over time can cause a hemorrhagic stroke (Wedro, 2013).

The blood accumulates and compresses the surrounding brain tissue. A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by weakened blood vessels that can cause aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) (ASA, 2013).

A ballooning of a weakened region of a blood vessel causes an aneurysm. If not treated properly, the aneurysm will continue to weaken until it ruptures and bleeds into the brain. A cluster of abnormally formed blood vessels is arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and the vessels can rupture, also causing bleeding into the brain (ASA, 2013).

A mini stroke also known as transient ischemic attack (TIA) is caused by a blood clot. Most often it is characterized as a warning stroke. With transient ischemic attack, the blockage is transient which is temporary. Transient ischemic attacks usually cause no permanent injury to the brain, although a transient ischemic attack resolves itself before there is damage, there is no way to predict which clots dissolve on their own (ASA,

2013).
If a stroke damages a certain part of the brain that area may no longer work as well as it did before the stroke occurred. This may cause problems with walking, speaking, seeing or feeling. A stroke is a medical emergency which can lead to death or permanent disability. Some cerebral vascular accidents are fatal because the damage they cause is widespread or affects vital centers in the medulla or pons (Sanders, Scanlon, 2003).
The number one main risk factor for strokes is high blood pressure. Atrial fibrillation, diabetes, family history of stroke, heart disease, high cholesterol and increasing age all increase your risk for a stroke. There are certain medications that cause blood clots more frequently, which increase your chances for a stroke. Birth control pills can increase the chances of having blood clots, especially for women who smoke and are older than thirty-five (Caplan, Chung, Goetz, 2007).
During pregnancy and in the weeks after pregnancy, women have a higher risk for a stroke. Men have more strokes than women. Alcohol use, bleeding disorders, drug use and head injury can increase the risk of bleeding into the brain, which makes you more than likely to have a stroke (Caplan, Chung, Goetz, 2007).
People who have poor blood flow in their legs caused by narrowed arteries or have heart disease are at risk for a stroke. Unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, high fat diets and lack of exercise are all risk factors for a stroke (Adams, Appel, Braun, Bushnell, Chaturvedi, Goldstein, 2011).