NURS MISC Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) Stroke Case Study

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) Stroke What is a stroke? It is a condition that develops when blood rich in oxygen can NOT reach brain cells (due to either a blockage or bleeding). This causes the brain cells to die. Type of Strokes –Ischemic (most common): due to a blood clot within a blood vessel or stenosis of an artery that feeds the brain tissue. This limits the blood that can reach the brain cells. This type of stroke can happen due to: • Embolism : where a clot has left a part of the body (example the heart: this can happen due to a heart valve problem or atrial fibrillation). The clot develops in the heart and travels to the brain, which stops blood flow. • Thrombosis: Clot forms within the artery wall within the neck or brain. This is seen in patients with hyperlipidemia or atherosclerosis – Hemorrhagic : this occurs when there is bleeding in the brain due to a break in a blood vessel. Therefore, no blood will perfuse to the brain cells. In addition, this can lead to excessive swelling from the leakage of blood in the brain. Causes of this type of stroke includes: rupture of a brain aneurysm, uncontrolled hypertension, or aging blood vessels (older age). -TIA (transient ischemic attack) also called a mini-stroke. This is where signs and symptoms of a stroke occurs but last only a few minutes to hours and resolves. It is a warning signs an impending stroke may occur. If this occurs the patient needs to seek treatment. To understand strokes, let’s talk about the BRAIN”S function and anatomy! Blood supply to the brain? The blood supply to the brain comes for the carotid and vertebral arteries, which then branch into other arteries that feed the brain. If any of these areas of the artery become blocked or burst open it decreases the blood supply to the brain cells. Brain cells are very sensitive and within 5 minutes these cells start to become damaged, and the damage can become IRREVERSIBLE.