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org/conditions/cerebral-ischemia/
Symptoms:
The main symptoms of ischemia include:
unconsciousness
blindness
Other conditions that may result from brain ischemia are stroke,
cardiorespiratory arrest, and irreversible brain damage. The causes of brain
ischemia can vary from sickle cell anemia to congenital heart defects.
The term stroke can be divided into three categories: brain ischemia,
subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage. Brain ischemia can
be further sectioned into thrombotic, embolic, and hypoperfusion. Thrombotic
and embolic are focal or multifocal in nature while hypoperfusion affects the
brain altogether.
Global cerebral ischemia occurs when blood flow to the brain is stopped or
reduced. This is usually triggered by cardiac arrest. If adequate circulation is
restored within a short period of time, symptoms may be brief. However, if a
large amount of time passes before restoration, brain damage can be
permanent. While reperfusion may be essential to protecting as much brain
tissue as possible, it may also lead to reperfusion injury or damage that results
from the restoration of blood supply to ischemic tissue.
The symptoms of cerebral ischemia include:
difficulty speaking
slurred speech
loss of coordination
The symptoms of cerebral ischemia range from mild to severe. Symptoms can
last from a few seconds to a few minutes or for extended periods of time. If the
brain becomes damaged irreversibly and tissue death occurs, the symptoms
may be permanent
Cerebral ischemia is linked to many diseases or irregularities. Patients with
compressed blood vessels, plaque buildup in the arteries, blood clots, very
low blood pressure as a result of heart attack, congenital heart defects and
even sickle cell anemia have a higher tendency to cerebral ischemia in
comparison to their healthy counterparts.
Sickle cell anemia may cause cerebral ischemia linked with the irregularly
shaped blood cells. Sickle shaped blood cells clot more easily than normal
blood cells, obstructing blood flow to the brain.
Compression of blood vessels may also lead to cerebral ischemia, by
obstructing the arteries that bring oxygen to the brain. Tumors can be a cause
of blood vessel compression.
Plaque buildup in the arteries may also result in ischemia. Even the slightest
amount of plaque buildup can cause the narrowing of passageways, affecting
that area to become more prone to blood clots. Bigger blood clots can also
cause ischemia by blocking blood flow.
A heart attack can also lead to cerebral ischemia due to the association that
exists between heart attack and low blood pressure. Extremely low blood
pressure usually characterizes the insufficient oxygenation of tissues.
Untreated heart attacks slow blood flow enough that blood may start to clot
and stop the flow of blood to the brain or other major organs. Cerebral
ischemia can result from events other than heart attacks.
Congenital heart defects can result in cerebral ischemia due to the lack of
proper artery formation and connection. Patients with congenital heart defects
may also be predisposed to blood clots.
In order to treat cerebral ischemia, doctors may prescribe medications for
ischemic stroke. Alteplase is an medication used to acute ischemic stroke. If
this medication is administered within four and a half hours, the treatment with
tpa improves the probability for a promising outcome over a placebo
treatment. Systemic blood pressure should be maintained to restore blood
flow to the cerebrum. Anticonvulsants are usually prescribed to avoid seizures
as well.