Recovery and Prognosis of Brain Stem Stroke These include physical therapy, speech therapy, and other rehabilitation treatments as needed.
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A ventilator may be used to help the patient’s breathing.Ĭontinued therapies are usually required for full treatment of the damage done by a stroke. In some cases, surgery will be required to stop the bleeding from a hemorrhagic stroke. The aim of all treatments is to restore proper blood flow to the brain as soon as possible to avoid severe damage. If the cause is found to be a hemorrhage in the brain, blood pressure medications will be administered to lower the blood pressure of the patient or clotting medicines will be administered to help close up the vessel that ruptured. If the underlying cause of the stroke is determined to be a blood clot, the patient will often be started on clot-dissolving medicines right away. Once the possibility of a brain stem stroke has been established, the doctor will likely order blood tests as well as an imaging scan of some sort, usually a CT scan or MRI, to see the blood pathways and if there are any blockages. A doctor will also look for any evidence that there has been an injury to the head or neck. If you feel a sudden onset of the symptoms mentioned above, contact emergency medical services or have someone do it for you.ĭiagnosis of brain stem stroke begins by identifying your symptoms and when they began.
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How to Diagnose and Treat a Brain Stem StrokeĪny type of stroke is considered a medical emergency and should be treated immediately. Other symptoms include loss of hearing, difficulty chewing, weakness in one side of the body, extreme lethargy, blurred vision, and difficulty understanding the speech of others. This is due to misdirected signals to the muscles in the face and mouth caused by the stroke. Speech impediment can also be a symptom of brain stroke, with the patient slurring their speech or being unable to speak properly, although the patient remains aware of what it is they want to say. Eye movements can become irregularly slow, restricted from full movement, and both eyes may move without regard for the other. Patients may also suffer from dizziness or vertigo, causing difficulties walking or standing from a seated position. In severe cases, this can lead to choking or suffocating, as the windpipe gets closed off during the swallowing action. The patient may need to swallow but be unable to, or swallow involuntarily without needing to. The irregular heartbeat and breathing problems are very dangerous symptoms, as we do not possess the ability to voluntarily control our heartbeat or breathing manually.Īs the brain stem is responsible for swallowing functions, these can also be confused during a brain stem stroke. A brain stem stroke also results in an irregular heartbeat. One of the major indications of brain stem stroke is difficulty breathing, with breaths being shallow or skipped. For this reason, brainstem stroke can be confused with other conditions. Brain Stem Stroke Symptomsīecause the brain stem is responsible for so many functions of the nervous system, symptoms of brain stem stroke are broad and can vary between patients. Other complications, occurring in only 1 percent of stroke patients, include psychosis, delusions, and hallucinations.
Patients remain conscious during locked-in syndrome and can only communicate through eye movements. Locked-in syndrome occurs when the entire body of a patient becomes paralyzed, excluding the eye muscles. More serious complications include coma or locked-in syndrome, but both of these are rare. Mild complications of brain stem stroke include impaired breathing and loss of consciousness. Males and individuals of African descent are also at a higher risk for stroke.
Heart conditions and irregular heartbeat.This can occur for a number of reasons, including a blood clot that travels through the bloodstream and gets lodged in a blood vessel in the brain ( ischemic stroke) or accumulation of blood in the brain after the rupturing of a blood vessel causing increased pressure inside the skull (hemorrhagic stroke).
The cause of a brain stem stroke is the same as the cause of any other stroke: loss of blood supply to the brain.
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