Ischemic Stroke
A 74-year-old male with a history of hypertension and smoking is admitted to the ED for
possible ischemic stroke. While eating dinner, the patient’s wife witnessed her husband have a
sudden onset of difficulty speaking, left sided facial droop with drooling, and weakness in his
left hand. The purpose of this paper is to explore how ischemic stroke can affect the neurological
and musculoskeletal systems. Also, the paper will explain the pathophysiology of the patient’s
symptoms, the ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning, and how the process
interacts to affect the patient.
Pathophysiological processes that result in the patient presenting symptoms
Ischemic stroke occurs when there is an obstruction to arterial blood flow to the brain
from thrombus formation, an embolus associated with atherosclerosis, or hypoperfusion related
to decreased blood volume or heart failure (McCance & Huether, 2019). The inadequate blood
supply results in ischemia and can progress to infarction (McCance and Huether, 2019).
Ischemic stroke can present in pre-determined syndromes due to the effect of decreased blood
flow to particular areas of the brain that correlates with various stroke syndromes (Hui, Tadi, &
Patti, 2020). In the scenario, the patient has a left facial droop, weakness in the left arm, mild
drift in the left leg, and mild to moderate dysarthria. With the signs and symptoms presented by
the patient, the ischemic stroke occluded the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the brain.
The MCA is the most common artery involved in stroke (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). It
supplies a large area of the lateral surface of the brain, part of the basal ganglia, and the internal
capsule through four segments (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). The first segment, M1 (Horizontal),
supplies the basal ganglia, which is involved in motor control, motor learning, executive
function, and emotions (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). The M2 (Sylvian), supplies the insula,
A 74-year-old male with a history of hypertension and smoking is admitted to the ED for
possible ischemic stroke. While eating dinner, the patient’s wife witnessed her husband have a
sudden onset of difficulty speaking, left sided facial droop with drooling, and weakness in his
left hand. The purpose of this paper is to explore how ischemic stroke can affect the neurological
and musculoskeletal systems. Also, the paper will explain the pathophysiology of the patient’s
symptoms, the ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning, and how the process
interacts to affect the patient.
Pathophysiological processes that result in the patient presenting symptoms
Ischemic stroke occurs when there is an obstruction to arterial blood flow to the brain
from thrombus formation, an embolus associated with atherosclerosis, or hypoperfusion related
to decreased blood volume or heart failure (McCance & Huether, 2019). The inadequate blood
supply results in ischemia and can progress to infarction (McCance and Huether, 2019).
Ischemic stroke can present in pre-determined syndromes due to the effect of decreased blood
flow to particular areas of the brain that correlates with various stroke syndromes (Hui, Tadi, &
Patti, 2020). In the scenario, the patient has a left facial droop, weakness in the left arm, mild
drift in the left leg, and mild to moderate dysarthria. With the signs and symptoms presented by
the patient, the ischemic stroke occluded the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the brain.
The MCA is the most common artery involved in stroke (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). It
supplies a large area of the lateral surface of the brain, part of the basal ganglia, and the internal
capsule through four segments (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). The first segment, M1 (Horizontal),
supplies the basal ganglia, which is involved in motor control, motor learning, executive
function, and emotions (Hui, Tadi, & Patti, 2020). The M2 (Sylvian), supplies the insula,
